


The Fellswap Slave

by mydarksidelovesthis



Category: Fellswap (Fandom), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Fellswap, Bad Puns, Battle, Fellswap Alphys, Fellswap Asgore, Fellswap Chara, Fellswap Papyrus - Freeform, Fellswap Temmie, Fellswap Toriel, Fellswap Undyne, Flirting, Gen, Gender-Neutral Chara, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Reader-Insert, fellswap sans - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 21:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9516986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mydarksidelovesthis/pseuds/mydarksidelovesthis
Summary: Chara falls into the Underground and finds a Heart Locket with the essence of another human in it who gives advice (and annoys Chara with flirting).The story covers two neutral runs - one in which Chara spares Sans and makes friends with him. The other in which Chara kills Sans and is plagued by Papyrus for revenge.





	1. Affection

**Author's Note:**

> Dear reader,
> 
> this story is slightly nonlinear. It reflects the choices a player can make in Undertale. (Kinda. You know I would have to write 2^5 pathes to allow you sparing and killing each area boss. Just imagine you're not always the one in control.)
> 
> Please just read this chapter until I tell you otherwise to get the experience I intent.
> 
> Despite the title there's no real slavery in this story. Or maybe not in the way you might expect.
> 
> Best regards  
> my bright side loves this, too

From a dark world of pain I awake. It it your voice that calls my name. Slowly I regain conciousness and I can swear my bones had been shuttered from the fall, but I am obviously wrong. Despite feeling pain in every fiber I am alive, raising my head from the bed of yellow flowers to look where your voice comes from. Then I realize your voice comes from below me and I put my fingers into the ground. Your voice becomes louder. I start digging into the soft soil which is full of the strong roots of those flowers. Within the depth of half of my arm my fingers touch a hard item. It is a heart shaped locket. When I touch it your voice is the loudest, or better to say the clearest, and I feel your presence. You tell me to put the locket on. You say you'll help me and provide information and suggestions. When I put it on you tell me ... that I look cute with it?

"Stop it" I say slightly flustered. You tell me that I can speak to you in my mind and that no one else can hear you. Fine. I feel the knife in my pocket when I wipe off my dirty hands on my clothes and I think I don't need your help, but it it nice to have it anyway.

The pain is nearly gone and my mind is clear. I take a look on my surroundings. I am in a cave. Above me I see a small piece of sky - the hole where I fell down. The bit of light that comes down here is enough to feed the flowers. I can barely see something in the dark around me, but it seems there is only one way. I get up and follow it.

I ask you who you are and what you're doing here. You answer that you are a human - or have been when you were alive. You don't know why you are here or how long ago you died. You say that you just woke up, probably because of me. You say that I "fell for you" and I make a facepalm.

In the darkness before me I spot a small creature, whose white fur nearly glows in the dark. It looks like a cat with two pairs of ears and shoulder-long black hair? "hOi, iM tEmmie" it says with a shrill, child-like or female voice when it sees me.

You say that you've never seen a monster like this. Wait, monster?

"hOOman is tHReat" it says. "tEM mOSt kil u sO mOnstas dunt get u." A couple of small white things come out of the creature. I take out my knife, ready to fight. You tell me not to kill it, but when I ask you how to do it, you don't know and just tell me to talk with it. Don't you see it's too late for talking and it's already attacking me?

The bullets, as you call them, suddenly accelerate into my direction and I raise the knife up in the air, pointing to those Temmie thing, as if it could protect me or something, but I feel better with it. But all the bullets just miss me. I'm confused.

"nO, tEm cant, iTs wRung" Temmie said. "tEm not aS bed as mOnstas." The cat nearly cried. What a whimp.

"Human, listen." Temmies voice reached a lower pitch that was much more comfortable to listen to. "The monsters will kill you if they find you. I wanted to kill you before they know you're here, but, but ... Would you allow me to accompany you? I can help. I can tell you how to survive."

You tell me to agree. Temmie can help me with things you don't know. I don't trust those Temmie creature, but somehow I trust you. "Okay." I say. Temmie sqeeks and babbles stuff I don't understand, jumping to me and rubs its head against my legs like a cat.

Suddenly it stops. Its ears are shrugging. "Quick, hide" it says, pushing me to the wall where there is a slight hollow in the stone. Now I hear them, too, foot steps that shake the cave, poundings that make the walls vibrate. They intimidate me. I make myself as flat as possible, hiding in the shadow, trying to merge with the stone. Then something passes by, something so big I can barely see it complete from my hideout. A giant coat is wafting over, belonging to something walking on two legs, but with white paws where the feet are supposed to be. You are quiet in astonishment before you say his name is "Asgore", the king of all monsters. You are wondering what he is doing here.

"Quick, before he comes back!" Temmie says. Quick, he will notice the whole I dug up, you say. I get a slight headache. Please don't speak at the same time as Temmie, I tell you. I can't listen to both of you at the same time.

I'm going forward, but I don't see the point. He is so big, he will catch up with me anyway.

I leave those part of the cave and step out into a wider area. Before me there is the entrance - you say to "ruin home", build with slightly blue stones and yellow flowers and whines growing on it. The look fills you with determination. I say it inTEMMIEdates you and I laugh when you get annoyed. I threat that I will annoy you with puns each time you flirt with me.

I step through the door, Temmie follows me and tells me to hurry. In the first few rooms I see some puzzles which are already solved, so I don't pay more attention to them. You say that Asgore had to get in here somehow, so he deactivated the traps for himself to pass.

The next thing I see is something you call mad training dummy. You say Asgore didn't follow me for a long time, so he's probably fixing the garden I ruined. We have some time, so you want me to train fighting with the dummy. I can end each fight peacefully by talking. I don't know what to say and we just look into each other's eyes. Temmie rushes me: "What are you doing? Kill it and proceed. No, wait." Temmie looks closer. "It's not corporeal. You can't kill it. Just proceed."

You give me a pickup line to say. It's silly. I say: "Are you an angel, who has fallen from the sky? Because you're so ugly." Sorry, I messed it up. The dummy loweres its eyebrows. I say: "Don't worry. True beauty comes from the inside. In your case from cotton." The dummy turns red. "What? Did I make you dummy-bly?" The dummy leaves. That means I win I guess. Temmie gives me a suspicious look and just tells me to go on.

In the next room a big strange frog crosses my way. You call it a froggit and you tell me to spare it. "Kill it!" Temmie shouts, making the froggit look at me. It gives me a long look. I put my hand on the knife in my pocket. Then it makes a decision and summons bullets that accelerate in my direction. I try to dodge, but some hit me. "Ouch!" I run to it while more bullets hit me and stab my knife deep into the body of the creature. Its eyes widen in surprise before it turns to grey dust that falls to the ground and on my hand.

Temmie squeaks in excitement. "Well done, human! You'll see it gets easier the more you kill." You tell me that it hasn't been necessary. But it just attacked me and I had no chance to talk back. You say that the method is to dodge and to talk while they're making a break for preparing their next attack. Okay, I try it next time.

But the next time I don't find the right words to say. I get impatient and kill it. I spare a monster afterwards. Then I kill one, because I felt like the next hit would just destroy me. You say that I don't need to fear death, because I can't die here. I would just go back in time. I don't believe that. You say that you can prove it by turning back the time without me dying. I agree.

Suddenly I find myself some rooms before and I get a heavy déjà-vu when I encounter same froggit as before, that does the exact same things before, which hurts my head and I kill it to end my headache. You tell me to not ...

"oY hOoman wut U do?" Temmie asks with squeaky voice. I'm glad you turned silent to not make my headache worse. "hoOman discovrt pOWa ova temline?" "Yes, yes." You don't want me to tell her about you, so I take the blame. Please never do that without my agreement. You say I'm so beautiful I look younger than two seconds ago. I ask if you've ever eaten a clock, because your lines are just time consuming.

"wY hooMan smil?" "Nothing, I just thought of something funny." We go on and I spare some more monsters than before, but still killing some when I think it's necessary. You know, without your guidance I would probably not know what to do and would kill everytime as Temmie suggests. Still I don't like risking being killed.

A far pounding got louder over time and now I can't ignore it anymore. I'm looking for a place to hide. Temmie suggests to hide in a sideway where Asgore doesn't need to pass (or even better, to ambush him and kill him). I'm pushing myself to the wall behind the corner of a sideway and hear the big footsteps coming closer, passing the entrance to my hideout, then stopping. He's looking on the pile of dust that my last enemy left behind. And asks some of the still living monsters about who did this. And comes into my direction.

I don't know what to do and Temmie is too scared to say a word. I put my hand on the knife and you beg me to not kill Asgore. If I get killed it's your fault. You say that everything will be fine. You tell me what to say so he won't kill me. 

He would see me anyway if I would try to run away, so I wait here until he finds me, which he just does. He is so big, I'd get an ache in the neck from looking up to him. His face is covered by white fur and he has a long animal-like snout like a dog and long ears hang down left and right onto his shoulders. But he also has human-like shoulder-long black hair and a beard. How strange.

"Finally" he says smiling. "You're the last soul we need to shatter the barrier. To free our kind. And to wage war on humanity."

"Okay" I say. You protest that this is not what you told me to say. But he hesitates anyway. "What?" "I said you can kill me and whipe out humanity."

He still doesn't believe me, so I throw my knife to his feet. You wonder what's wrong with me. Temmie is still too scared and now too surprised to say anything. "I don't know why you want to fight humanity, why you hate them" I explain. "But I can't blame you for that. You just need my soul, right?"

Instead of attacking me, Asgore lays his head into his necks and laughs so loudly the walls shake and a creepy echo halls through the gangways. "You stupid child. We will not only take your soul." I'm waiting for an explanation, but no one comes. You don't know what that means.

Now Asgore grabs my knife and hands it back to me. "How about you go and find out if we're really worth cooperating with. And if you don't like it, you may want to go on with your own small war."

So he's fine with me killing his subjects. You say that this would make the monsters angry at humans, so they're more willing to follow him into the war. It's exactly what Asgore wants. That's why you tell me all the time to not kill anyone. You want to keep the peace.

"Go ahead, small one" Asgore says. "Follow me. I show you the exit of ruin's home. Take yourself as much time as you want. All monsters still have the order to kill you on sight and will get a nice reward if they manage to do so." "Oh, wait" I say. "Did you sit on a pile of sugar? Because you've got a sweet ass." I'm laughing it off. Asgore and Temmie look at me as if I was stupid. Even you hadn't expected me to say your line after all.

Suddenly Asgore laughs again, then puts up a sad look. "Sorry, you just reminded me of one of my children who died long ago. Humans are just mean, but they were an exception and I doubt to ever meet a nice human again." He leaves.

You owe me an explanation. Were you a child of Asgore? You praise my combinatory skills. Stop flirting, or I combine my feet with your ghostly ass. You're snickering.

"Nice humans are even worse" Temmie says. "You are fine the way you are."

We go on. I try to do you a favor and don't take out my knife when I encounter a monster. They all die from a single stab or slash. I just take it out if I don't see another way out.

Eventually I reach the end of the ruins - sorry, ruins home. There's the home of Asgore as you tell me. Temmie says there's no other way out if I'm not a cat, so I pound on the door. Asgore opens. You give me a line. "Your war runs great. You already conquered my heart." He's not as blown off as before. He notices that I'm covered in even more dust than before. "I see" he just says, ignoring your fabolous line. "So would you ... just come in ... and I show you where to continue." He holds the door for me and Temmie. I say: "Thanks. You are a-door-able." This one was from me.

"Stop flirting with him!" Temmie scolds me. Oh, I would just do it to annoy Temmie. You're laughing and crying at the same time.

He guides me down a staircase and through a long hallway. "This is the end of the ruin's home. You'll find that the ruins are much more pleasant to stay alive, so ... just survive as long as you can and show my wife how bad humans really are. Good luck."

I head through the heavy stone door, which Asgore shuts right behind me.

_Read on in chapter 2 - Submission. If you've already read chapter 2, read on in chapter 3 - Dominance._


	2. Submission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me meeting the skeleton brothers for the first time.

When I leave the ruins a hot breeze blows into my face and sand grains prickle my skin. I cover my mouth with the top of my shirt and keep my eyes half closed. How can it get so hot and windy in a cave? You say that wholes to the surface make it windy and the heat comes from the inside of the earth. You ask me if I'm too cool to know lava. You say it's not hot in here, it's me. I say your flirting is sandsational and mind-blowing and now we're even.

I pick Temmie up to protect her from the wind and the hot sand. She buries her face in my arms.

As far as I see the deep sand makes it hard to walk. Only the path before me is tight enough to walk comfortably on it. Beside the path there are thorny bushes growing so I wouldn't like to walk there anyway.

On my way the thorn bushes grow thicker and closer to the path. Sometimes thorny twigs lie on it and I carefully step over them to not destroy my shoes.

I jump around when I hear twigs breaking behind me, but there's no one. Temmie's head looks out of my arms. I try to look closer and to inspect the bushes beside the path, but the sandy wind makes it hard to see far and as far as I see there's no way anyone could escape through the bushes without me hearing it. Probably it is just the wind playing with the twigs.

I go on. Then I encounter an obstacle - a wall of thorn bushes blocking the path. Suddenly I hear a voice directly behind me. "Human. Have you no manners? Grab my hand and say hello." I turn around, balancing Temmie's weight onto one arm in case I need a free hand to pull my knife. It is a large skeleton that stands in front of me, wearing an open, black jacket and an orange shirt below it. The skeleton reaches out a hand. "Don't!" Temmie squeaks. "He has a taser in his hand!" The skeleton gives Temmie a look. I grab his right hand with my left hand and turn it around to see what's in it. There's a small, round item that I don't know. "Welp, was worth a shot" he says winking. "I'm Papyrus the skeleton. I'm on hunt for humans, but, y'know, I'm not taking that opportunity from my brother. Oh, actually he is coming over there. I've got an idea. Quick, climb through the thorn wall." He turns me around and pushs me to the wall, without a thing I can do, so I just throw the protesting Temmie through it. "Yeah, just climb through it, the holes are wide enough." But I can't really climb as he is pushing me, it is more of a stumbling. My clothes get stuck at a lot of thorns, ripping off stripes of my clothes when I reach the other side.

I would like to call for revenge, but instead I use my hands to hold my clothes together. Somehow Papyrus got to the other side and still pushes me forward. Temmie scoulds him and jumps forward to dig her teeth into the skeleton's fibula, which doesn't really help, he just kicks her away. But in this moment I start to like Temmie a bit more. When he finally stops pushing me I find myself in front of another, smaller skeleton, who wears black armor, black pants, a red scarf and red boots. He looks at me not comprehending, looks at Temmie and back at me. Then his expression turns into a smile.

"Now now, who do we have here. A human it seems. Aww, your clothes are torn and don't protect you from the harsh weather. Don't worry. I help you out." He takes out some wide, white clothes which he offers me.

I take the clothes and put them on over my torn ones. They're wide and breezy, protecting me from sand and heat while letting a chilling breeze in. Still I don't know wheather to trust the skeleton and wonder where the crux is.

"You seem to like them" Sans comments. "What do you think of this?" He goes to Papyrus, takes out a chain that connects to a collar around Papyrus's neck from his jacket. I haven't noticed it before. Sans holds the chain like a leash and hands it to me. I don't know what to do with it and give Sans a questioning glance.

Sans says: "He does everything you want." I ask: "But what should I want from him?" Sans answers: "You can let him lick your shoes, for example. Or ... would you be more comfortable to replace him instead?" I still don't get the point of this and just hand Sans the leash back.

"So you're a bit unsure about it. Don't worry, human. Go ahead and we'll see if you make a good slave." Sans grabs Papyrus's leash and they leave, but before they're out of sight, Papyrus turns to me and says with a wink: "You want to play along. Keeping Sans's interest might be the only way to stay alive."

Now we're alone again. Temmie asks why I don't just kill them, but I just pick her up and cover her with my new clothes. "I can kill them later" I say. "Let me see what they're up to, first." Even you are scared of them and don't give me any lines. You say that you like to flirt if nobody takes you serious anyway, but you think Sans will, so I better shut up. But the incident filled you with determination anyway.

I go on and sometimes I think I see a monster passing by, but they're not attacking me anymore. Maybe the reputation of my knife has reached them. I don't bother hunting them. "They don't dare to attack you, because Sans claims you as his property" Temmy explains. "And Sans is strong. He will kill anyone who puts a paw on you." "That means I can travel freely to the end of the underground without anyone attacking me?"

"No!" Temmie grumbles. "Don't you see that Sans will not let you leave this area? He will try to enslave you and if he fails, he'll kill you. You should kill him and run as fast as possible before the other monsters hear about it and start attacking you again." You say you don't know Sans, but there surely is a peaceful way out.

I notice a new obstacle before me: A wall of rock. I don't see stairs or any other way up. Am I on the right way? Then the voice of Sans calls from above: "Hey, human. Too bad your path ends here. But don't worry, we can help you out. We send down a ring you can put around your belly and we pull you up. What do you say?" I wonder how they got up there. The wall is about 10 feet high. Now that I know where they are I can spot the two silhouettes of Sans and Papyrus in the sandy wind. "This stinks like a trap" Temmie says. "Don't. We'll find another way."

"Not convinced, human?" Sans asks. "Just take your time to look for another way up. You won't find one. We wait for you to change your mind." You tell me to search for one anyway, just to be sure.

So I leave the path and follow the rockface. As expected the sand beside the path is slippery and exhausting to walk over. There are a lot of thorn bushes that I have to walk around to not tear my clothes again. I walk until the bushes get too thick to walk through, so I return and look for a way in the other direction.

There is mainly some kind of high, sharp grass growing in the sand and I'm worried to cut myself. Luckily the clothes also protect my legs from it. Eventually I reach an area of wet sand where I begin to sink in and back off. I'm not ready to die in a hole of quick sand. Temmie has no better idea either, so I return to the path.

Knowing that you are there to help me and turn back time in case, I shout: "Okay Sans, I accept your offer. Please help me up." "Ow, oW, uR so ded" Temmie cries when the skeleton brothers let down an open ring hanging from a chain. The trap was riddiculously obvious. I close the ring around my belly and it locks with clicking noise. "Don't fall out" I order Temmie and put her deep into my clothes, holding her in place with one hand and grabbing the chain with the other. Papyrus is the one that pulls me up I notice when I reach the top, safe and sound. They didn't let me fall halfway, but ...

"Now would you open the ring again?" I ask. "Sure" Sans says and starts looking in his pockets, somehow stagily. "Huh, too bad, I can't find the key. Maybe I forgot it at home. You have to go on with the ring until I find the key." He grabs Papyrus's leash and leaves.

I hate it. The ring around my belly looks stupid and is heavy. Also with each of my steps the chain rattles, so I take it up and carry it, but this makes it even more heavy and tires me out. Now I hold Temmie with one hand and the chain with the other and I have no free hand to pull the knife, but as nobody attacks me anyway at the moment I can bear it for now. In case I could throw one of them away.

I go for a while and now I spot Papyrus again, but not Sans. Papyrus just stands beside the way, his leash loosely tied around one thicker twig of a thorn bush. Can't he just free himself easily?

"Hey human" he says. "I bet 50 g that I can put a handful of thorns into your clothes without them stinging you." You're curious how he would do it. Temmie seems to not know what to think of that. "I don't have 50 g" I say.

"It's okay." Papyrus winks. "Then I bet 10 g." "Okay" I agree.

He takes a handful of thorns. Holds my clothes open and just throws the thorns in. Temmie squeaks and jumps out. I squeak, too. "They're stinging me!" I shout and hurry to get the thorns out again.

"Huh, too bad" Papyrus winks. "Seems I lost the bet. Here are your 10 g."

He laughs as I jump around and try to pick the thorns out one by one. Temmie spits mean things to Papyrus, but he doesn't care.

When I don't find another thorn I take my 10 g and angry Temmie and move on. "Sorry, I didn't know that one, otherwise I would've warned you" Temmie says. I'm angry about myself that I fell for that.

The next obstacle I encounter is a locked door. Yes, a door, outside, with no walls left and right. Still it's wide enough to block the path. Behind the door crossing the path there is a relatively small canyon which is wide enough I can not jump over it. From the sides I see there's a bridge leading from the door to the other side.

I know where the key is. I'm staring at it for two minutes. There's a rock with an arm-deep hole in it, where the key lies. There's nothing to say or to discuss, so I'm just staring at it.

"It's a trap" Temmie states. I reply: "I know." "You shouldn't touch it." "Yes." I ask if she's got a better suggestion and she just says: "You know what I suggest and you won't do it."

"You are small. Would you try to get it for me?" "No! It's a trap."

I sigh. You are still with me to help me, so there's nothing to fear. All I can do is to hope that it isn't too painful. I put Temmie down and reach into the hole. When my hand gets near the key, something snaps my wrist and I'm captured. I can't get my hand out any more. There I stand, bound to the rock, one hand unuseable. Still I could use my free hand to use my knife if a monster was dumb enough to come close.

"i TolT yA its a tRApp" Temmie cries with big, wet eyes. "Would you please calm down and have a look if you can deactivate it? There was a noise coming from there when it snapped."

But just Sans appears behind me and I feel helpless. "Aw, human, look in what an unconvenient situation you are." He could easily kill me if he wants. I nearly feel his glance burning on my back.

"I see, you want to do everything on your own, but you are weak and you don't know this area. And your cat can't help you, too. You need a strong person who knows what to do. Someone like me. Do you want me to help you?"

I don't know what to say. What is he aiming at? "What do you want from me?" I ask.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just proving a point." He walks to the rock and touches it in a special place. The trap snaps - and I'm free again. Quickly I take my hand out, according with the key. I'm just happy.

"You owe me something" Sans says. "And I dare you to remember that." He walks to Papyrus who had stand somewhere behind me unnoticed and I don't care how they leave.

I'm still wearing some wristlet from the trap. It's golden and has the writing "Property of Sans" on it. My other hand pets Temmie, who digs her wet eyes into my tummy, crying tears of happiness about my release.

Before I go further I check the place where Sans had touched the stone, but I don't see anything there.

The skeleton brothers are gone and I can finally open the door and cross the bridge. I feel relieved. On the other side there is a small town, called Sunnedout Town, as the welcome sign says. "There's a shop, an inn, a café and library here" Temmy declares. "But ... I don't think they will sell you anything. Monsters ... don't really like humans."

I'm heading through the town. The houses keep the wind away. The wooden houses remind me of the wild west, but maybe any kinds of houses in a hot and sandy area would remind me of the wild west. Monsters are standing outside, not very friendly looking. They give me disapproving glances, some of them snickering, whispering to each other and pointing into my direction. "Won't they sell me something if they think I belong to Sans and they fear him?" "Huh?" Temmie didn't seem to understand? "Eh, no. It's Sans business to take care of ... why, you're not his human. Where is he anyway? He won't let you leave. I think he waits outside the town for the last fight."

"Then I guess I have no choice." "Wait, won't you ... hm, I don't know. I would suggest to kill everyone so you'll be strong enough to defeat him, but I guess you won't?"

I'm going on and I reach the end of the town. There is a windy, clear area with not much vegetation. While I go forward, the wind gets stronger and the sand grains bite the uncovered skin of my face. I protect my eyes with my arm to better see the silhouette of Sans before me. As a skeleton he probably neither felt the heat nor did the sand bite his skin.

"Human, I know you couldn't resist to follow me here" Sans says. "Prepare yourself." I hear him smiling. "I've got everything you want. If you lose, you'll become my slave. If you beat me, I give you the key to your chains. What do you say?"

I put Temmie down and tell her to stay aside while I fight. I don't want to care for her as well, hard enough that I have to protect myself. I'm feeling bit nervous. "If I lose just stay away and don't get yourself into danger, ok? Don't worry, I'm fine." She's not convinced, but agrees.

"Okay, I'm ready." My voice is getting shaky. You tell me to stay determined. I put a hand on the grib of my knife and feel better.

Suddenly a bullet shaped like a bone hits me, which I didn't see coming in the sand. "Take care and dodge, human" Sans hints. I keep my eyes half closed and try to see my surroundings without getting sand into my eyes. I spot the next bone before it hits me and manages to dodge it.

Now I see the whole crux with the stuff Sans had given to me. The clothes are protecting me from the weather, but they're wide and I get easily entangled in them and occasionally fall down. The heavy ring interferes with my jumps and tires me out. The chain beats and hurts my legs if I move too fast.

Sans's attacks show no pardon. Sometimes he sends bones at me so big I can't jump over them or bones so fast after each other I can't dodge them. Slowly I'm making my way closer to him to have a chance of using my knife, but the closer I get to him the more often I get hit by bones. I feel weaker and weaker. And I fear I could die. Will you stay with me? Will you turn back time in case I need it? Of course you will, you promise. You stick with me no matter what I do.

I reach Sans. Every inch of my body hurts from all the hits. I take out the knife and aim it at Sans. How do I kill a skeleton, where do I stab the knife in?

Another bone hits me. I fall to the ground, the knife slips my grib. This was too much, I'm too exhausted to get back up again. Sans puts a red boot on the knife, slightly out of my reach. "Now now, human. You've been easily beaten by the maleficient Sans. You're mine now." He takes out some handcuffs and puts them on my wrist. Then he calls for Papyrus to pick me up and carry me back to Sunnedout Town. I hear Temmie crying in the distance, but I can barely keep my eyes open. In Sans's shed the end of my chain is tied to the wall.

Papyrus leaves me alone with Sans. "I was worried we would get a dominant kind of human, but you're perfect. You're just not used to obey orders" he explains. The lights in his eyesockets glow scary in the twilight of the shed. "Time to teach you how to be a good slave" he says with a dark anticipation that frighens me. I ask you to turn back time to the point where I left the ruins.

_Read on in chapter 3 - Dominance._


	3. Dominance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know enough about the skeleton brothers to handle them.

I'm happy to find myself back just after the ruins. I'm not used to those time shenanigans, so I'm glad it worked. Thank you. "Why don't you just reset to the point before the fight with Sans?" Temmie wonderes. I say I have an idea, just wait. My confidence fills you with determination.

I'm wearing my own clothes again which are complete, but I notice the white ones did a better job in protecting me from the weather. I also have my knife back.

Just like before I follow the path, carrying Temmie and protecting her from the weather. Soon I encounter the wall of thorns that blocks the path and turn around before Papyrus begins to speak. "Hello" I greet him, ignoring the hand he holds out to me.

"Huh" he says. "I did my best to be quiet, but somehow you noticed me anyway. Whatever. You're a human, right? I'm Papyrus the skeleton. I'm on hunt for humans, but, y'know, I'm not taking that opportunity from my brother. Oh, actually he is coming over there. I've got an idea. Quick, climb through the thorn wall." He turns me around and starts to pushs me toward the torns. I don't manage to dodge him, so I raise a foot and kick back. He loses the grip and I'm free. "Don't push me" I command. "I can walk on my own." When I make sure that he doesn't try again, I throw Temmie through the thorns and climb through it as cautiously as I can. My clothes nearly stay complete. At least I don't need to hold them together manually.

Before Papyrus has a chance to push me again I go forward on my own until I stand before Sans. Again he needs some time to make his mind up about me and Temmie before he smiles.

"Now now, who do we have here. A human it seems. Your clothes are not suiteable for the harsh weather. Don't worry. I can help you." He offers me the white clothes.

"No thanks." "Are you sure? The heat will dry you out and the sandy wind will rip your small, dainty body to pieces." "Yes, I'm sure." I say while constantly looking him into the eyes. Eyesockets.

"Okay. As you wish." He puts them away. "Well, let's see if you like this more." He goes to Papyrus, takes out the chain from his clothes and uses it as a leash leash that he hands to me. "He does everything you want."

"Oh, really?" I've just waited for this moment. With a smile I say: "Papyrus, take your jacket off." He gives Sans a short questioning glance. I make the chain whip into his direction. "No! I'm your master now." Papyrus takes his jacket off and hands it to me. I put it on and hand Sans the leash back. "Thanks" I say untouched. The jacket is heavy, but not a single grain of sand comes in. I wear it loosely around me, so it lets a cooling breeze in.

Sans catches himself and smiles again. "Whatever, human. Go ahead and we see if you're strong enough to resist my master qualities." He grabs Papyrus's leash and they leave, but before they're out of sight, Papyrus turns to me and says with a wink: "You think you're smart, but it's just more fun for us the more you resist."

I pick Temmie up and put her under the jacket. She purrs and cuddles herself deep into my arms. I notice she didn't suggest me to kill them. Maybe now she feels save with me. Or she accepted that I do what I want.

Again I reach the wall of rock. To be blunt I don't really have a good solution for this. Sans calls: "Hey, human. Too bad your path ends here. But don't worry, we can help you out. We send down a ring you can put around your belly and we pull you up. What do you say?"

"In a moment" I shout to him. I take some steps beside the path and pick up a thorn twig, using a sleeve of the jacket as a glove before I return. "Okay, please help me up."

They let down the ring. I take some seconds to check if I can close it without locking it, but I don't see how. 

"Can I just hold it while you pull me up?" "No" Sans answeres. "That's too dangerous. We don't want you to fall down." "And if I take the responsibility?" "I won't allow it." Hm. I guess there's no other option. I close the ring around my belly and they pull me up.

"Now let me guess" I say. "You can't find the key to the ring?" Sans winks. "It's your lucky day, human, even if you don't think so yet."

"Oh, yeah, you're right" I say widely smiling, confusing Sans. "See? I can use the chain as a weapon." I hold the chain and spin the free end around in hope to look convincing. I have no idea what I'm doing.

"Well, I'll have another look for the key" Sans says unsure and leaves with Papyrus. I stuff the chain into one sleeve, so it won't hinder me and I still have the second hand free.

Next I encounter Papyrus again, his leash loosely tied to a thorn bush. "Hey human" he says. 

"Oh, nice to meet you alone" I interrupt his speech. "I wanted to ask you something. Just between you and me." I bend to him, one hand beside my mouth like I was sharing a secret. "How strong is your brother?" "Strong. Why?" "Oh, it's just because the other monsters I encountered were so easy to kill. I hope your brother is a greater challenge." He looks at me like I'm insane. The lights in his eyesockets disappear. "Don't you dare. I'd make your life a living hell."

"Okay, okay, Geez. I will take that into account."

He relaxes and returns to his speech. "I have something to offer you. I bet 50 g that I can put a handful of thorns into your clothes without them stinging you."

"Oh, I've got a better idea" I say and take out the knife. "I bet 5000 g that I can stab this knife into you without killing you. What do you say?"

Papyrus winks "Oh, I don't have the heart for that." More serious: "And I don't have so much money."

"I would even try it for 5 g" I offer and raise the knife. "I would even do it for free."

"Look, human" Papyrus says and I think I see some sweat drops on his face, but it's hard to say with the wind blowing sand into my face. "You're a bit overreacting. You don't need to be scared of me or Sans. We're not dangerous. Sans won't do anything without your consent and I won't do anything without his." One strong gust closes my eyes and when I open them again, Papyrus is gone.

When I encounter the door again, I pick up the key with the thorn twig. The trap closes loosely around my stick and I just pull it out and open the door.

The déjà-vu nearly gives me a headache. The same monsters are standing in the same places, doing the same things, making the same gestures. It's so bizarr I think I will never get used to it. Probably I would go crazy if this happened too often.

Covering my face with my arm I take some steps closer to Sans's silhouette who awaits me. I feel strong and ready and I'm sure to beat him.

"Human, you did well hiding your true feelings. You want to appear strong, yet you are weak and need someone to guide you and to take the responsibility. But don't worry, I give you a chance to get what you want without losing your face. Prepare yourself. If you lose, you'll become my slave. If you beat me, I give you the key to your chains. What do you say?"

I put Temmie down, who is much more confident and doesn't protest. I take off Papyrus's jacket, which is too heavy for the mobility I need and put it over Temmie.

I ask for your help. Give me some lines. They don't need to be pickup lines if you don't like, but anything that distracts him is fine, and I may lose my head in the fight. "I'm ready for you and the stuff you throw at me." Yeah, you see, I might need some help.

Sans starts with a small bone out of nowhere, but now I know it is coming and I can easily dodge it. He prepares another attack.

I shout: "I would like to put you on a leash and go for a walk with you." "What?" Sans is stumbling, then catches himself. "Hehe, first you have to learn to obey orders before you can give them. But I like your ambitions."

Another bone comes. I try out the chain as a weapon and throw it against the bone. The bone dissolves after a strong impact. How convenient. With the ring around me I still can't jump as high as I could, but this help with higher attacks, too.

I shout to Sans: "Oh my, you're so cute. Are you still growing?" It's silent for while and I nearly hear him thinking, before he answers: "You think I lose my interest in you if you say mean things? It makes you just more desireable for me."

He tries to play it down, but every line of me (or you) disconcerts him and his attacks become more uncoordinated. And maybe less predictable, thus harder to dodge.

Some bones move near the ground and I jump over them.

"Are you wearing black, because you couldn't find something darker?" "No, but I know what suits me. It suited you too, by the way."

He sends some more bones at me. Still easy to dodge, but I think he doesn't go full out yet.

"Are you even allowed to run around without parental supervision?" "My mom is busy punishing your mom for spoiling you."

Slowly I'm getting closer and closer to him to have him in range of my knife. There's still a long way to go, though.

"Your mom doesn't allow you to have any pets. That includes human slaves." "I can bring you to a zoo if you prefer."

More bones. The patterns become more creative. One slightly hits me and reminds me of being more careful.

"If you could eat properly you wouldn't need that drop cloth. Let me guess, your favorite food is ketchup?" "It's red from the last humans who said something mean about my clothes."

To humiliate him just feels so good. No regrets. I go on jumping and occasionally parrying a bone with the chain if it seems to hard to dodge.

"Your armor is worth nothing if you run around belly-free. I can see right through you." "Oh, so you're trying to tickle my funny bone. Sorry, but Papyrus already taught me every skeleton pun there is."

Huh, let's see about that. Give me some more creative lines.

"If you don't behave well, I have to chain you to your bed again." You tell me that joke is not appropriate for me. I don't see why. Sans laughs so hard he can't summon bones for a while.

His attacks get stronger and harder to dodge. Just kidding. The bones move faster, but not on straight lines when Sans is distracted from my last line, so I can dodge them mostly by just standing where I am.

"The 70s are calling. They want your heels back." "These are not ... what?"

And he's getting exhausted, because it looks like he's ... heavily breathing? It might be just symbolic.

"You are so thin, you probably just survived starvation." "You look delicious. Come closer and I might bite you."

Indeed I come closer and closer. I can clearly see him despite the sandy wind.

"You know skeletons just descended from humans who ate very less." "My progenitor invented the best diet ever. I just need air and the suffering of humans to survive."

I'm greatly enjoying the fight. Even you are doing your equivalent of rolling laughing on the ground.

"You had to make a lot more holes into the belt to make it wearable for you."

I have nearly reached him.

"Huff puff." I see sweat drops on his face. He sinks down to one knee. "It's clear you can't defeat me. ..."

Slowly I come closer, making a creepy face. After everything he did to me, I enjoy this small revenge. He tries to get up again, but he's too exhausted.

"Human, we can do great things together. You'll never find someone like me, who completes you in every meaning."

I'm standing close to him, holding my knife ready to stab.

That's it. I beat him. I think I know your answer, but I ask anyway. Do you want me to spare him or do you want me to kill him?

_For sparing read on here. For killing read on in chapter 4 - Revenge._

Oh, cool. You think he can help me on my destruction of humanity. Haha, I'm just kidding.

Slightly I tip my knife to his chest armor. "You're dead" I declare and laugh my ass off. Sans can't really believe his luck and still shakes. "You have a sick sense of humor, human. You kinda remind me of myself." He winks with a smile and whipes the sweat off his face. "I - I knew you wouldn't pass up on opportunity like this. So ... if - if you've recovered from our fight, feel free to come to my house. And we see where this connection leads to. And by the way, here's the key. I always keep my promises." He takes the key out from - I don't know, his inventory? And hand's it to me. I open the ring and I'm free again. He's still too weak to get up, but from somewhere Papyrus appears, picks him up and carries him away.

You ask me if I'm going forward now, as the path is free. But I think you know me better. I head back to Temmie, who is "sO pRoudZ" of my fighting. I put the jacket back on and pick her up. "Come, we've got stuff to do" I decide and return to Sunnedout Town. "Which house is Sans's one?" "Those over there" Temmie says. "Wait, you're not going to date him, are you?" I just smile at her without reply, go to the house and put her down outside. "Be a nice pet and wait here for me, will you?" "Wait, human, you can't do that. Sans will manipulate you and toying with you and he will ... are you even listening?"

I knock on the door. Papyrus opens. "Hi, I've got something that belongs to you" I say and want to give him the jacket, but he refuses. "Keep it. Might warm your bones." He winks.

You tell me to please take care of myself before I go in. "Sans! Your new slave is here for you" Papyrus shouts and leaves the house when Sans comes down the stairs. He seems to have already recovered from our fight.

"Aw, human, I knew you would ... wait." His smile froze on his face when he sees me. "Oh no, look what you've done!" He points to the ground to my feet, but I don't see what he means? "You carried a whole beach full of sand onto my floor!" he sets. "Take that dirty jacket off and leave it there, will you." I just throw it on the ground, but my other clothes are full of dust. Sans tells me to stay there and gets a hand-held vacuum cleaner with which he cleans me before he allows me to step further and take a look.

The inside is pretty neat, dark coloured but different colour schemes define the look of each room. I'm standing in the living room, which is dominated by black, purple and green. Sorry, no pun intented. Hey, if all inhabitants are skeletons, why is it still called a "living" room? You tell me to shut up and go on.

Across the front door I see the entrance to the kitchen. On the other end of the room are stairs leading to the next level. In the living room itself a huge flat TV catches my attention.

I take a closer look at it. "Cool, right?" Sans comments. "It's the best one you can get in the whole underground. Uh, please don't touch it. I hate dabs on it." "You mean like this?" I put my hand on the screen that is so clean and glossy I could use it as a mirror. Now I left some clear visible marks on it.

"Human!" Sans tears his nonexistant hair. "I told you not to touch it. I just polished it today! My work is ruined!" "Oh, sorry." I play the penitent. "Wait, I fix it." I whipe over my dabs wth my sleeve, which adds stripes instead of helping with anything. "No! Stop it!" Sans pulls me away from the TV. "It's okay, just ... just don't touch it. If you scratch it I have to punish you, so just don't touch it anymore." He looks like he's close to a headache.

I go to the kitchen, wondering what skeletons or monsters in general eat. The kitchen is colored in black (furniture and floor), white (walls and floor) and silver (the kitchen stuff, pots, silverware, you know). I head directly to the fridge and open it. There is - woah - a wide variety of ingredients and boxes with leftovers from home-cooked meals. 

"I'm a great chef" Sans explains proudly. "And I want my slaves to be in best shape, so I carefully prepare their meals with all the nutrients they need. What, not hungry?" Everything looks delicious and I haven't eaten since the fall, but in that case I better waive.

I head to a cubicle in the corner beside the sink. It doesn't look like a cupboard, so my first guess is that more food is in it. "That are all my cleaning utensils. I use only best quality equiment, that makes the work so much easier. Go on, take a look." I open it. And between bottles of detergents, mops and cleaning clothes I spot ... uh, it looks like an eyeball with red iris and white wings with grey ornaments on it, "sitting" on residue. It looks at me.

Sans is going mad. "Stupid flying eyeball thing!" He summons a bone and runs forward, ready to beat it with the bone. I step aside. The eyeball soars, dodges Sans attacks and quickly escapes through the front door. I mean it pushed itself down on the door handle. Sans sends some bones after it which all miss. And I could swear despite it only having one eye it had winked to me before it left.

I hear a door opens upstairs an someone plays something like badum tss on a drum set before the door closes again. "Papyrus! Stop it" Sans shouts.

He looks at the mess the eyeball made and takes a hand sweeper and a towel to remove it. "I swear this thing keeps coming in just to annoy me. It makes dirt. It eats my food. It solves my puzzles." I laugh. "What, seriously? How mean." Sans puts the residue into a garbage bag and throws it into the can. He smiles bittersweet. "It would be funny. But sometimes when I leave a draft of a puzzle lying around and leave the room for five minutes they have already solved it. Like it's telling me my puzzles are too easy." I wonder how a thing without arms solves puzzles. You have no idea and tell me you've never seen a monster like this before.

"Maybe it ..." I can't hold back, "has thrown an eye on you." Sans give me a serious glance. "I 'see' what you did there." He seems to be too distracted to give more reactions.

I wait till he cleaned up the inside of the cubicle before I head upstairs. There are two doors. Sans tells me to not go into the second room, which is Papyrus's one, because he had just cleaned it. "Seriously, which room haven't you cleaned just yet?" I ask, earning a scoulding glance from Sans. "It seems I need to clean up your manners." Then he smiles again. "I can do it just now. In my room. Do you like to enter?" He holds the door open for me. You tell me to better not do it, but you'll stay with me and reload in case, if I choose to. I feel my true knife by my side and decide I'm brave enough.

Sans's room is colored in black, red and some highlights in yellow. Well, it's mostly as I expected and looks pretty dangerous. For example his bed. There are ... some chains on it. "You could allow me to chain you as a symbol of your trust" Sans offers with a wink. You tell me NO. Yeah, don't worry, I'm not stupid. I decline. But then I spot between the pillows ... a pink rabbit plushie? "Oh my, that's so cute." I pick it up to have a better look. It seems to be very old. One eye is missing and replaced with cross-shaped stitches. The fur is thin and worn-out in some places.

"It's not cute!" Sans contradicts. "It's a dangerous weapon only tough guys like me use." "Yeah, sure." I laugh. But Sans seems to be serious. "Papyrus gave it to me when I was a baby bone. He often had to work until late in the night to feed us both. With that I could put myself to sleep and it protected me from intruders. You know what a lonely kid means?" He winked. "Free kills. For me." I'm not convinced and look closer at the bunny, but I don't see anything dangerous. "How does it work then?" "It has a taser inside. The batteries are empty, there was no need to replace them."

I take a look on the bookshelf, wondering what Sans reads. The newer books are about cooking, cleaning, household-tricks ... some old children's books are yellowed and waved from water. Well, if you can call them children's books, I mean. They contain big drawn pictures barely with texts, but the original pictures have been overdrawn, now telling stories about monsters that are mean to each other. You tell me that the life in the underground is harsh. Parents have to prepare and harden their kids with stories like that. Sans adds: "When I was a kid Papyrus often told me stories about a world where only monsters live and nobody has to die, because everyone just respawns. Those were my favorite stories!"

I've seen enough and turn to Sans. "Oh human" he says. "I knew you had a deeper interest in me when you came here. Can't blame you for that 'cause I'm really great after all. You do your best to flatter me and you admire my sense for cleanliness and cooking. Now you even came to my room to spend some alone-time with me. Human, everything you say, everything you do. It's clear that I pulled you in my deep prison of love where there's no escape from. Human, I have the honor to ask you: Will you be my slave?"

I try to keep a serious face, but I'm close to laughing. "Well, you surely are something special. But I thought ... Can we just be friends?"

"Oh, that's how you humans call it, huh?" He winks. "I guess you're shy and not used to that situation. Okay, I accept. I will be your 'friend'." He laughs. "I also give you my phone number. You can call me anytime if you need masterly directive ... I mean friendly advice."

I tell him that I don't have a phone.

"Oh, in that case ..." He goes to his closet and gets a small item he hands me. "You can have this one. I already stored my number in it. Take care of yourself. Good property is hard to find nowadays. Now please leave. I have to clean up everything you made dirty."

When I leave the house taking Papyrus's jacket with me, Temmie still waits outside for me. "hOOman i waS so woryd." She rubs her head against my leg. I pick her up und whipe some sand out of her fur. "i sought U lEEve da hOUS in ChAinz." "Oh no" I smile. "I'm now friends with Sans. Look, he gave me a phone and his phone number, so I can call him anytime." I take it out to show her. Oh, there is another number stored beside Sans's one. The name is "Frisk". I've never heard it before.

Temmie's jar drops. "That ... that's my phone!" What a surprise. I imagine Temmie using the phone with her paws. "That's your phone? But how ..." I remember what Temmie had told me about Sans. "Wait, does that mean Sans tried to enslave you and to put you into chains?" I laugh so hard from my mental image tears are rolling down my face. I can hardly breath. Temmie looks slightly offended. "Sorry, sorry" I say. "It's just funny that you want me to kill everyone because of your own problems."

"They're not my problems, but yours" Temmie says with a serious voice. "I'm just trying to help. If you don't listen, fine. You'll see that killing everyone is the right thing to do and I will give you advice when all the others have left you for a long time."

Let's call this "Frisk" I think and push the buttons. But the person is not reachable. Too bad, I would like to know who that is. "Who is Frisk?" I ask Temmie. She says: "My sibling. Died a long time ago." "Oh, sorry. My sympathy." So they were another cat-thingy. I don't feel like bothering Temmie with further questions.

Now I go on, leaving the town, passing the stormy place where I fought Sans and head to the next area.

_Read on in chapter 5 - Connections._


	4. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killing Sans. And bearing the consequences.

At the end, you're not better than any other human. It's okay, I understand. We are not meant to follow the path of mercy for too long. That's why we're not worth living, me included. I can accept that.

I stab the knife below his armor into his chest. I don't know where exactly it goes, but when I killed the monsters in the ruins I had the impression that it doesn't matter.

"Please don't kill me. I spared you. You owe me one" he says, but it's too late, he's already dissolving to dust.

What. The. Heck. You told me you could turn back time. Okay, okay, let me just make this clear. I went through this area the first time. I fell for Sans traps, including the one where I tried to get the key from the stone, where I was caught. Sans freed me and told me I owed him one for that. Then we fought, he defeated me, but didn't kill me, which could also be what he meant. Later I told you to turn back time to the point where we left the ruins. I didn't fall for any trap that time and Sans didn't say those words. So why did he just say it??

You don't know. This has never happened to you.

"Temmie?" The cat cries tears of "pRoudZ" about my victory. I repeat my summary. And the question.

"Uh, that's uh, you know ..." "Oh, come on." I'm angry at her. "You want me to survive, don't you? Well, this might be crucial, so you better tell me."

"Tem doesn't know!" she states. "Tem could reset before and did a lot of stupid things. Tem could just erase da memories, right? But someday the skeletons started to say things they couldn't know. I never found out why. Please don't be mad at Tem."

"Huh, and I thought I was above consequences." I dig up the key from Sans's dust and open the ring around my belly. Dust coveres my hands and the sleeves. I try to whipe it off, but it sticks and I just spread it. Well, not bad if everyone could see what they could expect if they attacked me.

I go on, leaving behind the sandy wind and entering a new area, where the ground is covered with brown, dry leaves, that rustle with every step, so annoying. You call the area Rusteleaves. Black trees and bushes without leaves are standing around and the ground looks wet and swampy in some spots. You tell me to stay on the path to not step into a swamp hole.

The leaves are annoying me with each step. I wish I could switch their sound off.

After some steps between the twigs of some bushes I encounter a sentry station. Papyrus sits there, watching me, nearly staring at me. I feel like the new grey dust on the sleeves of Papyrus's jacket are damn obvious and treasonous.

"Hi, human" Papyrus says with a sweet voice. "How was the fight with my bro? Could you dust up some awards?" I don't know what to say. He already knows. "Well, I finally got the key to my chains." "Which you would've gotten anyway" he replies. A bone pops out from the ground, piercing me all the way through. "You literally are a dirty brother killer" he hisses before I die.

You bring me back to the beginning of Rustleleaves. Thanks, I don't need to kill Sans again. Temmie asks: "Are you alright?" I just nod and need some seconds until the headache from the sudden place change fades, then I go on. When I encounter Papyrus's station, I crouch down and move forward like this, hoping he doesn't see me. Well, last time he leaned back and he doesn't really remember last time, so I should be fine. I move slowly, just making a step if a breeeze moves the leaves anyway. I reach the station.

"Hi, human" Papyrus says with a sweet voice. "How was the fight with my bro? Could you dust up some awards?" Carefully I look up, where Papyrus leana forward, peeking down on me, winking. There's no chance he could have seen my sleeves when saying that. He must have watched the fight. I decide to jump up and run as fast as I can, but some bones pierce me from behind, right through my heart. "You dirty brother killer!" Papyrus shouts before I die.

I find myself at the beginning of Rustleleaves and hold my head until the headache fades. "You could try to kill him" Temmie suggests and that's exactly what I'll try next to spare me some trouble. I put Temmie down and go to Papyrus, one hand on the knife.

"Hi, human" Papyrus says with a sweet voice. "How was the ..." I attack. He dodges back. Oh, he's the first monster I encounter to even try dodging. Some bones pierce me. "You literally and figuratively are a dirty brother killer" he notes before I die.

Back again. The headache fades. "What do we do now?" Temmie asks. I have an idea. I go back to the battlefield and dig up Sans's phone from the pile of dust that already get's blown away by the wind. I return to a place near the station where Papyrus won't spot me yet and set Temmie down, giving her the phone. "Here. Keep him busy." I sneak to the bushes and give Temmie a sign. I sneak forward. Papyrus startles from the sudden ringing and stares at his phone's screen not comprehending. I pass him behind the station. He decides to answer. "S ... Sans? Is ... is that you? I saw you dying ... did you respawn? I thought ..." I'm away and hide myself behind bushes and trees. Papyrus must have notice the trick: When I look back to the station once more I don't see him anymore. I hope Temmie is fine. Now going back to the path ... Oh damn. I step into a swamp hole and sink in until the ankles. I don't really know what to do, so I flounce around, trying to get my feet out, but I just sink in deeper. In desperation I let myself fall forward, where my hands grab the solid ground. I feel my knees sinking in and dig my fingers into the ground, pulling myself forward half crawling, until I lie on the ground, covered in mud but alive and safe. I take some seconds to let my breathing and heart beat calm down.

But suddenly something lifts me up. Or someone. It's Papyrus. He throws me far into the swamp hole, where I quickly sink in knee-deep. I can't express how much I want to kill him in this moment. Hate was burning in me like a fire. Yet one part of me silently begs you for mery. Please don't let me die here.

"Nice" Papyrus says. "I was worried I would have to repeat that pun a lot more. Hey, human. I know what you're capable of. So how about you give me my brother back" he winks "and I forget about all of this?" I'm shouting a curse before you turn back time to the moment before I step into the swamp hole. Thanks. This time I avoid it. Quickly I sneak forward, hiding behind whatever comes in my way, but when I look around I don't spot Papyrus anywhere, so I return to the save path and run without caution.

He remembers. Why does he remember? I don't understand. You said you would turn back time. Was it a lie? But I really see everything happen exactly like before everytime it happens. Or is it just me going mad? Why didn't they remember before? Or were they just pretending to? At least Papyrus admitted it, but despite that one sentence I hadn't the impression Sans would ...

You tell me to calm down. You say that you have done it a lot before and no monster ever remembered anything. Only humans. And Temmie, but she's not really a monster either. You don't have an explanation for Papyrus. If I could just go on and maybe we will find out?

A monster jumps out of the bushes, some kind of horse with cleaning tools, looking at my dirty sleeves with disgust. I don't have any time and just kill it with one stab.

More monsters attack me. Yellow flowers. Bathtubes with big musles. Some kind of upright standing centipede doing some kind of wave dance with it's legs. I kill all of them as soon as they look at me and summon some bullets. Then I start killing them as soon as they appear. They will attack me anyway. You ask why I don't even try to spare them. I laugh silently. Is that a rhetorical question? Why would you want me to spare a monster you don't know all of the sudden?

Temmie joins me again and smiles at the amount of dust on my clothes.

When I peek around some trees, I quickly jump back behind the trunks. There's Papyrus, taking to another, smaller monster. I don't know what it is, because it is covered by armor, but it has a tail that drags over the ground, so I guess it's some kind of reptile. It could be something completely different, though. I don't know much about monsters after all.

They finish their talk. Now they both turn to the path. Watching, waiting. I guess they wait for me. I don't know how to pass without they spot me and they're to far away from the path for me to attack them.

I whisper to Temmie: "You went through this, too, didn't you? So how long will Papyrus chase me?" "Well, actually he won't stop until he's dead." "And you wanted me to kill Sans anyway??" "Yes! Because you're stronger than me! I don't stand a chance against Papyrus." Stupid cat. I want to blame someone for my situation. It's your fault. And it's Temmie's fault. Now would anyone of you two help??

"Then you better think of something helpful to get me past them!" I hiss to Temmie. Obviously you don't know a thing about my enemies.

"That's Alphys, Head of the Royal Guards. She's shy and will stay away from you. Why don't you just ran past them? You can dodge" she suggests. Great. I'm surrounded by losers.

"Here, I show you that it doesn't work" I say angry, drop her and run. Yeah, I feel like just run into the bullets to show her how stupid the idea is, but I actually do my best. Alphys sends bullets in form of lighting into my direction and I dodge them without problems. Papyrus just watches. Then a bone hits my legs - I fall and am hit by a swarm of lightning bullets that kill me.

You bring me back to the tree. In pain I shout at Temmie: "See? They work together. And even worse: Papyrus remembers everything I did before!" I startle when lightning bullets pass by left and right of the trunk. Seems I was too loud and they heard me. Whoops. I run. What a stupid idea. The other losers around me must have made me crazy.

I dodge Alphys's bullets and pay attention to any bone that aims at my feet. Instead, while I look down, one hits my head and knocks me back, throwing me on my back. The impact takes my breath away. Some more bullets and I'm dead.

You bring me back to the tree where I have to wait for my headache to fade. Then I realize that Papyrus probably gives Alphys different advice every time I die. 

I have an idea. Well, actually I have many ideas, but most of them I consider to be stupid.

"Temmie, do you still have Sans's phone?" "Huh? No. What would I do with it? Papyrus won't fall for it twice." "No, but we can use it to call Alphys." She stares at me in realization. Then she flattens her ears in sadness. "No, I don't. Sorry." "Then go and get it."

I ask you to bring me back to the point where I just had passed Papyrus. I run around the swampholes, killing the same monsters again. I feel like the déjà-vu nearly drives me crazy. Then I meet Temmie again just before the trees where Papyrus and Alphys met.

"No, wait" I say when Temmie is about to call Alphys's number. "Let me try some more times. So Papyrus won't know what we're up to." I use that runs to see how far I can get without tricks.

The first time I run about the half the way to the next group of trees where I would be safe for some moments. Not bad. I even dodge the first group of bones aiming at my feet and head, but the second gets me. The second time I dodge the bones, but out of the sudden a branch flies to my face, hitting my arms hard which I raised in the last moment to protect myself. The third time Alphys is the only one attacking me. Papyrus pulls a chain from the ground - which lied across the path hidden in leaves, now draws in my way and I fall over it. The next attacks get me when I'm about to stand up. What a bonehead.

"Now, Temmie" I whisper after my headache is gone. "Now I will turn back to the moment we just arrived and I will run instantly, so Papyrus won't have time to tell Alphys anything. When I run half the way you call Alphys, but only if Papyrus attacks me. Got it?" She nods. I start sprinting and you reset, so I'm instantly at full speed. Alphys attacks me uncoordinated and even Papyrus is startled for a moment. I'm about halfway through when he starts to attack. Then Alphys bullets fade, but I'm too distracted to have a look at her. Papyrus's attacks stop, too. Happily I reach the trees - but something clicks under my foot and explodes, tearing me to peaces.

You bring me back to the moment before I step on that and in my cloud of pain I somehow manage to avoid it. Instead I hit a tree with my fist and scream in anger. "Damn you, Papyrus!"

"You rang?" he asks, stepping out behind a tree behind me. How can he be here so fast? Some bones kill me.

You bring me back to the moment after I avoided the trap and tell me to calm down and run further. I run, hopefully in cover of the trees. Another monster pops out right in front me, nearly making me falling over it, so I kill it in anger and stay for a moment to calm my breath. The air burns in my lungs and I want to rest, but now is not the time for that.

More bullets lightning-shaped are closely missing my ear. Damn, Alphys caught up.I start running again, dodging her bullets. Hm, where is Papyrus I wonder when I run around a curve, bumbing into him and falling on my back.

"Hey. You can't leave yet." He winks. "We're not done with you." Bones appear in the air, accelerating down to me. I roll around and dodge them with it, but more bones hit my back.

I find myself just before the curve and pull my knife, ready to stab it into Papyrus, but this time he's not there. I'm disappointed. He must be near, but I have no time to search for him. But I see Alphys, standing far away from the path in the swamp behind bushes, constantly sending bullets into my direction. What a coward.

I dodge, run, stop to let bullets pass in front of me, run further. Alphys beside the path only needs to take some side steps, while I have to follow the curves of the path. Here's where Temmie joins me again, jumping to me over the swamp with on her smooth paws, crying like a baby. That's when Papyrus joins Alphys again and I feel like a clay pigeon when he starts throwing bones at me.

"OvAA thAAA" she screams, leaving the path and running uphill. I follow her upwards. Now I can use my speed and run straight away from my foes, bringing much distance between us, but running uphill drains me out. On top of the hill I slip and fall, but you reset instantly before I hurt myself and I slow down, moving down the hill on the other side half-running, half-sliding. At the bottom behind some bushes I sit down to rest.

"See why monsters have to die?" Temmie whispers. How unfair, I'm not in the state to talk back. "They're evil, always trying to make your life hell." "Well, I ... it's my fault ... isn't it? ... I ... killed ... Sans." "They tried to kill you since you fell down here. They want to whipe out humanity to rule the surface. Even if they wouldn't do it in the first place, they would seek hard punishments for small misdoings. You can't live together with them peacefully." "How noble of you to protect us humans ..." I say with ironie, which Temmie doesn't get. She replies "huh? No. I just think monsters are not worth living. I don't know what to think of humans."

Now it's time I get up and move onward. In this area there are less trees and the air gets colder and foggy. There's also a lot of trash lying around. Cans, plastics, electronics ... Looks human to me. You agree and say they're coming from the surface, probably through a hole in the ceiling. Monsters sometimes take something to use it, but most of it just stays here until it sinks into one of the swampholes and is then never seen again.

I pass some piles of trash and spot another training dummy in front of me, just like the one in the ruins. They block my way. I try to walk around, but they make a "step", still blocking me. You suggest to distract them with a pickup line, because they look shy. They look up at me with their black button eyes and their small body shakes. But I don't want to. Instead I take out my knife and stab it into it's soft body. Cotton spills out and some white smoke or something leaves it. The dummy falls down on the ground like the lifeless item that it is.

When I walk further, following the path, the fog gets denser and I spot spider webs in the trees. Though there are less trees than before, but more bushes and brown grass which could also be reed. Two trees are standing close to the path like some kind of landmark.

"H-H-Human, s-stop" Alphys says. She's a silhouette in one of those trees, nearly fitting perfectly with her dark armor, but despite that too fat to hide. "Y-You have pr-proofen why we m-must e-erase humanity. G-Give m-m-me your s-soul so Qu-Queen Toriel ..." "Come down and take my soul you coward, hiding yourself in the swamp and behind trees!" I shout at her. "You're not worth your title. Go back to the trash where you belong!" She's not attacking. She's just standing there. I wait, standing as still as her. Only my eyes are secretly looking to the sides for a Papyrus to show up. Alphys wrings her hands nervously. I smile about her struggeling. I hear her mumbling something, like she was speaking to someone, but I can't make out any words. Finally she jumps down from the tree. "I-I'm not a coward. I-I'm brave. S-See? I-I-I c-came down to f-face you."

"You're right" I say, coming closer, putting on a friendly smile. "You're not a coward. You're just plain stupid." I stab my knife through a slit of her armor and she dissolves to dust. What a relieve. I can go on without any more disturbance from her.

Papyrus steps out in front of me. He has tears in his eyesockets, if that's even possible. "If you've never loved, you don't know what loss feels like. It's a sting in the heart, something like this." He summons bones that pierces right through me, just like he did in the beginning. But. This time. I don't die. He looks at me in surprise. My guts are screaming in pain, but anger is burning inside me. The bones dissolve and I nearly fall down, but I keep standing, staring at him. With the rest of strength inside me I pull my knife. But another attack kills me.

You bring me back to the moment before Papyrus steps out. You say that the killing made me stronger. But in the bad way. I lost so much sympathy I can even ignore the needs of my body and bear more pain. I can distance myself even from my own wounds. Yeah, right, shut up and spare me from this crap.

Papyrus steps out. "Why don't you stop already and give me back my brother?" He attacks. I stare at him with a hard glance until his second attack kills me.

I return, he steps out again. "Is what you want to do really worth all the pain?" He kills me again.

"Your perserverance is admirable. But you need to know when to stop." I don't answer and get killed.

"Whatever it is: You will get nothing if you follow that path. Turn around and don't waste your time." He attacks. I smile. He kills me.

I greet him with a smile when he steps out again. "Still here? You must feel very strongly about it, huh? Is the feeling even stronger than this?" The bones pierce me again, hitting arms, legs and body where no vital organs are. I mean I don't get problems with aspiration or a heartache this time. I give him a bright smile, probably deformed by my pain. "You can kill me as often as you want. It doesn't change anything."

He looks at me, staring like he could turn me to stone with that. "Doesn't matter. SHE'll show you what it feels like to lose a loved one. Go on and see for yourself." You bring me back, so I'm not injured anymore. This time he doesn't step out from the tree. I pretend to walk by. Suddenly I turn around, stabbing to him, who was hiding behind the tree, but he dodges. With his foot he throws some leaves into my face and when I blink he's gone. Whatever. I'll kill him next time. He will come to me again, giving me more chances.

Now the fog gets denser and the air gets colder with every step I make. When the first snow flake lands on my nose, Papyrus just appears behind me. "That's mine if you don't mind." He grabs the jacket from my shoulders and disappears before I can even turn around. I don't see where he went. You ask me if you shall reset so I can fight for the jacket, but I'm getting tired and I don't like that dirty cloth anyway. I hold Temmie tighter, feeling the warmth of her body and go forward. My anger will burn the cold away. I pass a big neon sign saying: "Welcome to Coldsea."

_Please read on in chapter 6 - Desperation._


	5. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I spared Sans. He's kinda helpful.

After leaving Sunnedout the next area is a swampy area covered with fallen leaves and black, naked trees. You call this area Rusteleaves. You tell me to stay on the path, because otherwise I might step in a swamp hole that's covered with leaves. The leaves below my feet are rustling with every step, which is annoying. Out of the blue I decide to call Sans. "Hello, human. Nice to hear you. I'm nearly done cleaning up your dirt. Uh, would you mind calling me 'master' to show your true affection?" "I ... think so?" Can't really hurt I think. I'm stronger than him anyway. "So what can you tell me about this area with all the brown leaves?" "So you're going onward. Don't worry. You're my property now - I mean friend, of course. Nobody will attack you. Just stay on the path and you should be fine. Papyrus has a station there so tell him I said hello." When I hang up Temmie grumbles. "Why did you call him? You passed him and you still have his protection. No need to ever talk to him again." "Aw, Temmie. Don't be such a pussy. He doesn't have the heart to hurt me." You laugh. Temmie gets mad. "Fine, do what you want. I can't help you anyway if he captures you again."

A short while later, between the twigs of some naked bushes I spot a sentry station. A sentry station with bright sand on it like the one that is blown through Sunnedout all the time. Papyrus sits there, eyesockets half closed. How ever he does that, being a skeleton and all. Sans is still at home, but Papyrus doesn't wear a chain or anything. His shirt reminds you of something and you drop me a line. There you are again. "Hey, honeybottom. Since when Sans lets you run around unchained?" He smiles a bit, and winks. "You don't know how this game works, do you?" "Which game?" He snickers. "Wait a sec. Be right back."

Papyrus turns around, not caring if I'm still listening or not. He takes out his phone and makes a call, still snickering. "Hey, Sans, the human" Papyrus is interrupted by his own laughing. "The human took our game seriously." Papyrus bursts out in laughter and I hear Sans laughing on the other side. Papyrus hangs up and turns around to me. "Hm, where were we. Oh, you wanted to invite me to grab a snack at Muff's with you, right?" You laugh and say my charm is obviously hard to resist, you never managed to escape me. I say I'm so charming I could have more dates than a date palm.

"Yes, exactly" I say with a smile. Temmie complains, as always. I tell her: "You wait for me here. Be a nice cat and stay." I put her down. More complaining: "I'm scared. Someone might try to kill me. At least let me wait in the town." Okay, that's a point. I pick her up again and turn to Papyrus.

"Whatev" he says and get's up. "Follow me. I know a secret backdoor." He leaves behind a tree. When I follow him I suddenly find myself in a café? I drop Temmie as I hold my head to ease the sudden pain. "Are ... are you alright?" I hear Temmie's worried voice from outside of my cloud of pain and don't care. The pain fades away and after a some seconds only a quiet pounding in my head is left. I'm back, taking some deep breaths. Temmie and Papyrus look at me. "Yeah ... yeah I'm fine. Don't you do that again" I scould Papyrus. He replies: "What?" "That teleporting you did!" "Huh. Dunno waddaya talkin' about." He winks. "We just walked through my secret backdoor. Don't tell anyone." Temmie whispers: "He always pretends to not know a thing if asked. Only if there's any benefit for him or his brother."

I just nod and send her outside. The café is neatly decorated with pink and purple colors, but also creepy with big spider webs and plastic spiders in it. No, wait, they moved?? Let me revise: real spider webs with real spiders in it, some of them not moving and probably dead. It was very quiet. The monsters at the tables weren't talking and oddly sitting far away from each other, mostly suspiciously looking at their own foods. Behind the counter a big spider monster runs around, prepares sweet dishes, serves customers, brings dirty dished through a door in the back side of the room and so on. All at the same time with her six arms.

Papyrus escorts me to the counter. The monsters we pass glance at Papyrus with fear in their eyes and look down or turn away. At the counter I take a look at the seat before I sit down. After he tricked me with the thorns I better not trust him too far. But I jump up from a thorn that was hidden inside the seat and remove it before I sit down again. "Take care where you sit" Papyrus winks. "Some idiot hides thorns in the seats." "You don't say." I was angry I fell for that trick. You want to calm me down and give me a line. I smile. "I guess there's no other way for an idiot to get a stinger into me." He looks at me like he is not sure how to react, so he doesn't reply.

"So, whaddaya want?" He asks instead. "A doughnut or a cupcake?" I say neither. Papyrus winks. "Don't be stingy." And he adds more seriously: "You're not scared we poison you, are you? C'mon, I won't damage Sans's property. Hey, Muff, tell 'em we're not poisoning 'em." Muffet agrees. But I notice some spiders running over the cakes on display and some black grains in the cakes look suspiciously like spiders, too. I'm not hungry anymore. I add to Papyrus: "Just eat my portion, too. You are just skin and bones afterall. Without the skin." I give him a wink. He smiles and orders a bottle of maple syrup. Muffet rolls with her five eyes, but serves him anyway.

"So. Whaddaya think of my bro?" Papyrus asks. I'm not sure what to say. "Well, he's very ... occupying." "Occupying, huh? Well, you were too if ya were that strong and terrifying. He works hard on keeping his image. Though we actually don't care about what others think of us, but it makes life easier." He opens the bottle and ... drinks the maple syrup. "You don't need to drink that. You're sweet enough." You snicker. Papyrus replies after putting the bottle down: "You can't oil my tongue. I don't have one."

He continues the stoey: "And we're convincing. One day Alphys, the Head of the Royal Guards - wonder how she got that job - knocked on our door and asked if he wanted to join. He refused. B'cause she was stuttering and barely hold eye contact with him. And y'know he'd never obey someone that weak. But he agreed to become sentry. He follows his own orders and can claim any human first that comes through the door. And he meets Alphys once a week to - hm, not sure. Looks like he's trying to manipulate and enslave her, but actually he trains her to talk back to him. But" he winks, "doing someone a favor and making them owe you one is just another way to enslave them, don't you think?" He stops winking. "And he does a great job. Now she mostly speaks without stuttering."

He keeps silent for some moments. "Oh, what I wanted to ask you. How much do you know about Temmie?" Althouh I don't follow most of Temmies suggestions I trust her more than this skeleton. I would keep myself vague. "Well ... some things." "Huh, doesn't sound like much. Lemme tell you that. One day she showed up in the underground. Tried to be friendly, but failed, b'cause y'know, that's not how it works down here. She got frustrated and started to kill. But failed, b'cause y'know, that's not how it works either. So Sans captured her. Called her over the coals if ya know what I mean. Now she's kinda quiet and still. But keep an eye out for her, will you."

He gets up. "Welp, time to go back to work. How much do you want, Muff?" The spider lady looks nervously around. "Oh ... nothing. I just put it on your tab, ok? Just pay it whenever you like." I guess I was lucky that I didn't know why exactly everyone was so scared of him.

Papyrus goes to the door, but turns around halfway. "Oh, by the way. As I said Sans is very strong. You'll be save as his slave." He winks. "Even if you just pretend to be." He leaves. I think I'm save going on how I do.

I leave the place and I pick up Temmie outside. "How was it?" she asked insecure. I'm not sure what's in her mind. Is she scared about me? Does she fear that Papyrus told me something about her? I cuddle her. "Aww, don't you worry little cat. It was fine. We just talked." Temmie looked at me eyes wide open. "This place scares me. I once saw how Muffet put some paralyzing poison into a cake and after a monster fell down from it, she took them to the kitchen and sucked them dry. Nobody else saw her doing that, so she wasn't punished." "Don't worry, I didn't eat anything."

Again I have to walk all the way over the stormy battlefield, enter Rustleleaves and pass Papyrus in his sentry station. Like before he sits there half sleeping, not really paying attention to me or anything else.

The surroundings nearly stay the same. I think that the trees grow further from each other and that the air gets more wet, but I might be wrong.

Before me I see something moving and quickly hide behind a tree. It is ... Sans? I take a careful peek. Sans and another person. The second person has a compact shape, a hunchback wears armor, so I can't say what it is. It could be some kind of squirrel, lizard or rodent.

"So, what do you want? Huh? No. The human is mine. You can't have them." The other person answered so quietly I couldn't understand it. "You say they're not mine, because they defeated me? Ha." Sans seem to have problems with understanding, too. "I'm alive, you know. They didn't kill me, because they wanted to become mine." I think in that break the other person spoke again. "No, you won't take their soul. The human is mine and I won't help you killing them. Stay away from my property." He leaves. Not into my direction, but into the direction of Sunnedout Town.

They didn't stand on my path. You say that the natives know where to walk beside the paths. I don't. But that means they know I have to come this way, doesn't it?

And indeed the person kept standing there only slightly turned around to watch the path. I hide. Temmie whispers: "That's Alphys, the Head of the Royal Guard. She will try to kill you, no matter what Sans told her." I consider my possibilities. Temmie of course would want me to kill her. I could try to just run past her. Or I could ...

I take out my phone and call Sans. "Hi master" I whisper. "Oh, hello my dear human" Sans answers. "Do you want me to walk you on a leash? You may like it." "Alphys is blocking my path" I declare to ignore his offer. "Would you mind to distract her so I can continue?" "Sure, honey. Wait a sec." He hangs up. I wait a second or two. Then I hear a phone ringing from the far and Alphys takes her phone out to answer. I hear her talking, too quiet for me to understand, then she turns away from me and I decide to run.

With running I mean I walk as quick and quiet as I can and dare, trying not to cause too much noise. Most leaves on the path are flat from all the feet that have stepped on them, hence they don't make much noise, but still ...

A dry twig breaks below my foot. Alphys turns around and spots me. Hastily she ends the call and starts to throw bullets toward me that are shaped like lightning. I'm running fast. Alphys is far away, so I have no problem dodging the bullets. I run and run and notice how Alphys is too slow to keep up my speed and soon I've left her far behind out of sight. I slow down to a fast walking. My phone rings. It's Sans. "Oh dear, are you okay? Alphys just cut me off." "Yeah ... yeah" I say out of breath. "She's ... slow." "But she knows the area and all the shortcuts. Take care of yourself. I try to talk to her again." He hangs up.

Temmie flattens her ears. "He's just good for nothing."

I don't reply and just go on. Suddenly a monster pops out behind a bush. It looks like a water vessel with feet, big muscles and a rubber duck inside it? How strange. I just notice you calling it "Muslua" before it attacks me with drop-shaped bullets. One hits me. I'm so surprised from the encounter and the pain, I pull out my knife and stab it into the hard looking surface and the monster turns to dust. Temmie adds "just told you so", but I'm too angry to listen and just take out my phone.

Before he can say anything I shout: "Sans! I was attacked! You said they wouldn't attack me anymore!" "Who attacked you? Give them to me." "Muslua. I killed them." Sans sighes. "Okay, but next time call me immediately." I hang up still angry. There was no time to call him. You tell me that I could indeed dodge if I know the pattern. And I can easily take one or two bullets before the monsters need to take a break. Ok, fine, maybe next time. 

A yellow flower monster appears before me. With "appear" I mean it pops right out of the ground. You call it "Flowey". "Howdy" it says. "You're a human, right? Don't you know in the underground it's ..." it makes a creepy face, "kill or be killed?" It summons a handful of bullets. I take out my phone and dodge the bullets while picking Sans's entry. "Hello master. There is a Flowey that wants to kill me." I hold Flowey the phone. "For you." Curiously and surprised Flowey bends to the phone. "Hello Flowey" I hear Sans saying with a frightening voice that even scares me if I'm not the receiver. The Flowey is sweating. "This is Sans. You know me, don't you? One of your kind spent a week in my shed. And came out crazy and babbling nonsense. Do you want to know what I did to them? I can show you." "N ... no" Flowey stutters. "Then take your dirty leaves off my property! I will use my right to whipe out your whole kind if any of you touches my slave!" Flowey mumbles something and disappears into the ground.

"Thank you, master." "You're welcome. By the way, how do you know the names of the monsters?"

"Yeah" Temmie agrees as if she has just noticed it by herself. "How do you know? I didn't tell you this time."

I'm trying to find an explanation. Don't you help me? You are the one that doesn't want me to tell them. Oh, okay, I try.

"Yes, Temmie told me. She just forgot she did." "No I didn't ..." Sans is satisfied and hangs up. You drop me another note. "Yes, you did. Do you remember how you told me you were adopted and when I mentioned it later you didn't remember?"

"No, no I ... I don't remember ..." She is confused and can't think of another way I could have heard of that. She tries to remember so hard she shuts up for a while. I'm secretly laughing and wish I could give you high five.

"Wait" I suddenly say after a few steps. "Temmie. Are you sometimes babbling because of what Sans did to you, too?" She starts crying. Like a child: Suddenly, loud, deeply moving and annoying at the same time. "Sh, sh, it's okay, I won't ask you anymore." I pet her gently. " There, there, everything is alright now. You're safe now." I wonder what Temmie did to deserve that.

Between some bushes I encounter Papyrus again in another station. It's like he follows me. Maybe there are station all along the way and he just scares the other guards away from them, I imagine. But this time Papyrus is selling ... delicious looking cream cakes. I'm hungry. You remind me that I didn't want to eat anything from monsters because of anything that could be inside it. Yeah, I know. I could save one for later, just for a case of emergency ...

I step closer. Papyrus sits up from his half sleeping position. "Hello human. You look hungry. How about a freshly prepared cream cake? Only 50g a piece."

"Yes, please, give it to me." I search in my pockets and throw him the amount on the counter.

"Okay. Here it comes." He takes one. And throws it into my face. Temmie jumps off my arms. The "cream" spills all over my face and drips down onto my jacket. I'm so speechless I don't react for some seconds. Then I shout at him: "You stupid bonehead, I kill you!" "Hey, calm down, you're just looking delicious. Hey ..." I take out my knife and attack him, but he backs off and the counter blocks my path. I start climbing over it.

"Hey, relax kid" Papyrus says and throws a handful of dry leaves into my face, along with some soil. I need some time to clean my eyes. When I can open them again, Papyrus and all the cakes are gone.

Damn, what a bonehead. I scrape the remains of the thing off me, which was not a real cake but a piece of melting snow.

When I'm fairly clean again I take out my phone. Sans says: "Hi human. Why don't you drop by and give me a kiss. It's completely normal to kiss friends." "Papyrus pretended to sell cakes which were actually just snow and when I wanted to buy one he just throw it into my face. I demand that he's punished for that!" "Yeah, I will later put him into his cage for some hours. Is there anything else I can do for you?" his voice turns back to a joking tone. "Like, you know ..." "No thanks." I hang up. Seems like I won't get any further this way.

Temmie flattens her ears. "Please stop calling him." I pick Temmie up and continue my way.

Suddenly something passes my ear closely. Damn it, more lightning-shaped bullets. Alphys is back. I hold Temmie tight while I run and dodge. "You should consider killing her" Temmie says, but ... "I can't. She's standing beside the path in that swamp. I can't reach her." Therefore I run away, following the path. But the path is curvy as it avoids the swamp holes and have to run detours while she can use shortcuts. "Can't you ... just tell me ... where to walk in that ... swamp?" I ask. "Yes, over there" she answers and points upwards an ascending plain. Nice, now I can run straight and take advantage of my speed. "Be careful" Temmie warns me, but I slip on top of the hill, roll down the other side and into a group of bushes where I hit my head against a stone.

You're in pain. Every fiber of your body hurts, like you have been chewed. Or thrown out of the window of a skyscraper. The pain makes you want to die, but at the same time you want to live, so you call for help. Your weak voice was hard to hear although your lungs screamed in pain caused by the movement. But somebody hears you and small steps are coming close. "Uh, what are you, a human? You are a mess. Want me to show you mercy by ending you? What's your name?" You're mumbling something. "Frisk, huh? What a silly name. Here, get up. My parents have to finish you. I can't do it, because I have no arms." You mumble something else. "What? Are ... are you flirting with me? You must have hit your head really hard. I'm a monster, you know? My name is ..."

The ringing of my phone wakes me up. I lift my head out of the bed of leaves and take a muddy hand out of the ground to answer it. "Huh?" "Hey, sweetheart, where are you? I'm trying to call you for half an hour." I hear smiling or something. "You're not cheating on me with another master, are you?" My head aches. I feel the urge to throw the phone away. Sound hurts in my head. Speaking hurts, too. "Uh, dunno, hit my head." "You're injured? Oh dear. Alphys doesn't answer her phone anymore. Just stay where you are and I'll find you, ok?" "Uh ..." I make as answer and hang up. I push myself up. And notice my whole body was covered by leaves, that now fall down. You say Temmie did it to hide me before she left to lure Alphys away from me. Sweet cat. You ask if I'm fine, you mean relatively. I don't know what to answer. You are worried, so I just say yes.

I sit up while holding my head. Ok, I guess I'm really not that badly injured. I mean the fall into the underground was worse, right? And I still survived it. The pain already fades away. I get up and start walking. You tell me to go into the direction where there are less trees and the air gets foggy. Also I notice trash lying around, all kinds of cans, plastics, electronics ... You explain that they're coming from the surface. Human throw their trash away and nobody really knows how it comes here, probably through another hole in the mountain. Monsters or the wind carry some stuff around. Then it eventually sinks down in a swamphole and is never seen again. You tell me how I make this place more beautiful. I suggest you to not waste your breath on me.

"hOOmAAN!" Temmie is back, jumps at me and cuddles herself into my lap. "i Boght u TYme, cannU geTup?" I reply that I'm fine and we can continue. Yeah, Sans told me to wait. Whatever. I prefer to leave before Alphys finds me.

Between the piles of trash I encounter another training dummy similar to the one I met in the ruins. "Not corporeal" Temmie whispers. "You can't kill them." Oh, Temmie not suggesting to kill for once. I must be dreaming. You ask if in that case you are the human of my dreams. I reply we obviously are a dream-team. "Then I just go by" I decide, but the dummy blocks my way. I wonder why they are doing that, because they look like they're going to fall over any moment. I step aside and they follows me, still in my way. You drop me a line. "Do you believe in love on first sight or will you let me leave so I can meet you again?" The dummy is so scared of me I see them shaking, still they're summoning some big bullets that look like cotton balls and shoots them at me. That's it. I take out my phone to call Sans. In this moment the dummy jumps forward, grabs my phone and floats away.

"Hey, you stupid thing!" I want to run after it, but it's hovering over swamp. "Temmie, go and get my phone back. You are fast and don't sink in." Temmie nods and starts to chase the dummy. "Just stay on the way and I'll find you" she shouts at me before she runs out of sight.

I follow the path. The fog is becoming denser and in the trees I spot creepy spider webs. Hm, they might have been there all the time, but not visible in dry air. There are still some naked trees, but more bushes and some kind of high, dry grass. Two big trees flank the path like the pillars of a gate.

"H-Human. Stop." Oh, damn. Alphys is standing in one of the trees. I should've noticed her ealier. "I-I will bring Qu-Queen T-Toriel your s-soul to fr-fr-free us all. We n-need s-seven and st-st-st ... have six. H-h-h-human, I, I, I ... uh, damn it." She starts throwing bullets at me again. That's it. Why does she make it so hard for me to spare her? You can't tell me, either.

I run forward through the trees, dodging the bullets. I run further. Eventually I get out of her range and crouch down behind some bushes, so she has to come down and look for me. I sneak around the bushes, run at her and stab my knife deep into a gap of her armor. She looks at me in surprise and falls to dust.

And you know what? In the pile of dust she has left behind I find my phone beside hers, both switched off. I take mine and switch it on again, just to get a call from Sans. "Human? Where are you? I can find neither you nor Alphys. Are you alright?" "Yes, master. I couldn't figure out how to make her stop attacking me, so I killed her." He sighes. "Well, that's ... unfortunate." "Why? Monsters are trying to kill me all the time." "I understand it was self-defense. You see, our laws only apply to monsters and you're basically just an item of my property and I'm allowed to kill anyone who destroys my property on purpose. Alphys bet I would not punish her, because we were kinda close. But Alphys guards and friends might take revenge on you. Actually that might be a special case for which we don't have a law, yet. I don't know. You better come back before you get into serious trouble." "Well, my fancy-pants master, I might would consider coming back if you could tell me what Asgore meant with: If they kill me they will not only take my soul." Sans keeps quiet for some seconds. "I don't know what a dead human body is good for. I mean" he giggles, "I have some ideas but I don't think that's what he meant." "Good to know" I reply barely restrained and hang up.

"I hate him" Temmie comments with flat ears. Oh, I hadn't noticed her coming. "Hi Temmie. Back from not getting my phone back I see." "tEm so sORy, wAS conFust With loTs of Dums giVe fOn 2 Each oTha." I just pick her up again and go on. I'm not really mad at her. For me it just turned out fine.

With every step the fog gets denser and the air colder. The ground gets hard. Soon I encounter some snow flakes falling down and I'm glad to wear Papyrus's jacket. I pass a big neon sign saying: "Welcome to Coldsea."

_Please read on in chapter 7 - Isolation_


	6. Desperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus joins Undyne in making my life hell.

I start shivering just by looking at the snowy landscape before me. Damn it. Everywhere I go in the underground the climate is hostile, as if the areas itself hate me.

While I walk between icicles and ice walls the snow flakes become bigger and denser. Not just the air is cold, no, every now and then a snow flake falls into my neck, drawing more and more warmth out of my body. My teeth start to chatter and I hate it. It's loud and draws attention.

Before me I spot a building and hope no Papyrus will prevent me from warming myself up in it. Temmie is not shaking yet. "I know you're freezing, but you shouldn't go in. This is Undyne's lab. She's a crazy, ruthless scientist. She'll try to capture and experiment on you."

"It's not like I have many choices, have I?"

"No." Sadly she flattens her ears. "Please be careful. She's experimenting with determination. It's possible you won't be able to reset." You let me know that you've never encountered a single place in the underground where you couldn't reset. That doesn't mean you did it all the time, but you know how it feels like if you can.

"Huh. I don't really mind to die. I just wish I can take the one with me who kills me."

Temmie mumbles something, half to herself. "Why would you ... I mean won't you like to live with the good feeling that you did the world a favor and erased those plague? What's the sense of dying anyway?"

I get near the entrance. Temmie digs her head in my clothes. "Please don't leave me alone down here. You're the only one I can talk to."

The automatic door opens before me. The lights are off, so I step into the darkness. Compared to the temperature outside it's a relieve.

When my eyes adapt to the twilight I see something close to the wall. It looks like a half empty pallet of chocolate? I go closer and the door closes behind me. "My oh my." I grab one, not comprehending. I rip off the paper and smell it. Oh yes, it's the best.

When I want to take a bite, the lights switch on, blinding me for a moment. I blink into the light, covering my eyes with an arm, trying to spot who the two people are who stand over there. One is some kind of humanoid fish-like monster with blue skin, yellow eyes and red hair, wearing a white lab coat. The other one is Papyrus.

You inform me that you can't reset here. Could you tell me something useful for once??

Papyrus points to me. Undyne gives me a big grin like a shark and raises a big cube in her hands for me to see it. "Napstabot! Go get them!"

Papyrus winks at me.

A door opens and some kind of robot comes in. He's a metal cuboid with arms, a wheel at the downside and some buttons and a screen on the front. Normally I would find it hilarious to be attacked by a giant calculator, but I wasn't in the mood for laughing.

Temmie flattens her ears: "run" she whispers in the moment the robot starts to shoot laser beams at me that burn my back when I turn around. I grab a handful of chocolate bars and throw them in his direction for distratcion, then I head further to the door, but the automatic door doesn't open. Yeah, of course.

I run to the sitting corner I just spotted and crouch behind the sofas. My back burns and I feel a cold breeze on it. I don't dare to think about that. "Stay here and hide" I whisper to Temmie. At least she can dodge between those tables and sitting accommodations until she has a chance to escape.

Undyne is shouting commands to the robot, but I pay no attention. I'm listening to the sound of his wheel that tells me when he will be close enough. The lasers are not strong enough to pierce the couch, so he's coming around. I grab my knife tighter.

Suddenly I jump out, stabbing the robot with the knife. I expect it to cut through like it did with every monster - but I just make a small scratch into his metal case.

"Stupid human!" Undyne comments. "You can't kill this great invention of mine!"

Oh, is that so, huh? I jump forward, pushing the robot with my body weight - he just balances it out and points his lasers to me.

I stab at his screen - it cracks, but beside that it did nothing. He shoots his lasers - ouch! - they burn my body and I don't dare to look.

Again I jump forward, putting a foot behind the robot's wheel and pushing him - he falls to the ground.

"Hey ... what did you do?" he asks.

I step back, looking at my work. He tries to get back up with his arms, but he's too heavy. This might bought me some time.

That's what I thought, but then a bone hits me. Hard. The pain overpowers me and I sink to the ground. Please, tell me you were just kidding. Please reset. This is not how I want to die. You say you really can't and that you're sorry. That's it, then. My senses fade away.

 

When I wake up I find myself tied to an operation table, as far as I can see. The ceiling lamp blinds me. I try to remember how I came here, then I try to remember a place I've been before that looks like this, where you might resetted me to, but I have no idea.

I try to move and look around. My body aches everywhere and I'm still cold. The belts that tie me to the table are tight and cut into my arms and legs. Oh, what situation have your brought me into. Are you happy? Are you sad? Do you care at all?

Behind my feet I notice the silhouette of Undyne sitting in chair, taking notes. She looks up to me, giving me a big creepy smile showing all her shark-like teeth. "Just finishing this notes. It's great to have a fresh blood sample for once."

Blood sample? I try to see where she took my blood from, but my body just hurts everywhere. Also I feel weak, but that doesn't mean a thing under these circumstances. Hell, I hope she didn't take too much. I have to get out somehow.

She puts her notebook onto a small table beside her, where I also spot the cube. She grabs it. "Papyrus told me with determination humans can do more than just achieving their goals. Very interesting. Let's find out about it." She does something with the cube which I can't see. "Tell me, human, what is the password? If you can't tell me, I kill you."

"W-what? How should I know?? Which damn password?" I shout at her in fear and anger. What is she even talking about?

"Too bad." She puts the cube aside and takes out my damn knife. "The password would've been: Gaster ate my spaghetti." She stands up and walks to me.

"No, you damn sushi roll, untie me and I kill you, you damn cowardly bastard!" I don't know what to say and just shout everything that comes to my mind. "Your mom lives in an aquarium and has to jump through hoops. Your dad is cut open and eaten alive and set on fire." Undyne stabs the knife right into my heart. It's a horrible look from my perspective, but it hurts just a short time and I feel some kind of peace as darkness overcomes me.

 

Then I'm back alive, dunno why, and shake in panic, trying to see through the veil of my headache. I'm still tied to the operation table. Undyne sits in the chair, the cube on her lap. When did she sit down? And why ... Well, I think I know, but I wish I was wrong. She looks at me. "Tell me, human, what is the password? If you can't tell me, I kill you."

"It's: You're a stupid bitch and I hate you and I would kill you if I could. And also: Gaster ate my spaghetti."

She grins. "Sounds just like me. Now tell me, what is the second password?" "Go to hell with your damn passwords, I'm not your guniea pig!" Even the shouting just hurts my lungs and I just want to throw my pain at her and stuff it into her face.

"Du-duut, wrong." She grabs the knife again. "The second password is: A royal scientist sleeps in the Core." She gets up again and comes to me.

Damn it, I've seen that coming, literally. "No, you stupid fish bitch, I roast you over a campfire and cook a soup from you, but ain't nobody eat that dirty fish bitch shit!"

"You're getting riddiculous." She kills me again.

 

The peaceful darkness just fades too fast and I'm back on the table, blinded by the light, screaming in the pain of my headache and fighting the belts that hold me in place. Then I start to cry. How long will I have to take this until she's satisfied? Or will she just kill me over and over and over, while I'm the only one remembering everything? I hate the pain, I hate being helpless, why do I have to suffer? Then I start to cry. I will never get out of this hell. And I deserve it, don't I? I'm so mean. I killed. I made people cry.

Undyne sits in her chair, staying silent for some more time, smiling about my tears. "Stop it, you crybaby. I didn't start the experiment yet. At least I think so. So what's the password? If you can't tell, me, I ... oh, you've experienced it before, haven't you?"

"Please just let me die. I can't take this horrible life anymore. Do what you want with my body."

"Tz, tz." She shakes her head. "I say when you die. And I'm by far not done with you yet. You're my first living subject and I've got so many questions that need to be answered. So can you tell me the password or can you not?"

"Gaster ate my spaghetti. And a royal scientists sleeps in the Core." I snob. No, no, I can't really be here. This is a bad dream. This is a hallucination. I wish it was.

The door opens and Papyrus comes in. Gives me a quick glance. Oh, I forgot. HE remembers, too.

"Howsat experimenting going, Undyne?" He winks.

"Oh, fine. They just gave me the first two passwords." She grins. "And they beg me to letting them die, isn't it hilarious?"

"Oh, is that so?" He winks at me. "Life is just to precious to die. Maybe they don't have friends and family that care for them." He takes the cube of her and looks at it lost in thoughts.

"I don't know and who cares anyway?" She makes some notes. "Would you please give me the cube back. Hey ..." Papyrus does something with it. He winks at me again. And smashes the cube onto the ground.

 

I find myself again in front of the lab, still heavy breathing from the tension. I whipe the tears of my face before they freeze on it. And I decide it's not worth the risk to warm up in the lab again. I take the path beside the lab. Temmie acts like a bundle of feelings - she cries in happiness about seeing me, scolds Papyrus and Undyne and the robot and even the cold and cries about how scared she was. I pet her gently to calm her down and to calm myself down. Then I hide my hands in my sleeves to protect them from the cold.

When I walk around the corner, Papyrus stands there. I gulb and grab Temmie tighter.

He says: "I won't repeat myself, but my offer stands. Give me back my brother and I will stop making your life hard." We're staring at each other for some moments while I'm shaking. I'm listening to your advice. But you stay silent. I understand. Then he sighes and adds: "I see. You're just cold. You need to chill down. This place might be just right for you, then." He steps aside to let me pass and laughs madly.

I'm making some steps, looking at him from the corner of my eye. Suddenly I turn around pulling my knife, but he's gone. Confused I look around. "Did you see where he went?" I ask Temmie.

"No ... he might have been just a hallucination or something? Happened to me all the time."

I bury my hands in my sleeves again after I put my knife away and follow the path. The area is full of high ice walls which get closer and closer to my path as if they were about to crush me very slowly and painfully. Soon the path starts to avoid them, curves itself around them, gets cut apart and both half gets squeezed together again. Until I'm lost in that labyrinth.

"W-where do we go now?" The cold drains me out. I'm already shaking and highly doubt I can stay outside for very long.

With one paw Temmie points to somewhere over the horizon. "There's NTT hotel. There's an elevator that will bring you to the Queen's castle, where there is the barrier and a way out of the underground."

I'm so jealous of her warm fur. "Great, b-but how do we get th-there?"

"Uh, oh." She flattens her ears in sadness. "Well, I guess just walk into that direction and we should get there, right?"

"I-in case you haven't n-noticed I d-don't have the time to t-try out all w-ways" I try to hiss angrily at her, which probably sounds ridiculous with me shivering. Still I have no choice but to follow that order.

My foot sinks into the ground. The snow crumbles away and I fell into ice spikes that pierce me - I scream. I still scream after you resetted, screaming of anger and pain. If you know what heavy pain feels like, you probably can't imagine that pain combined with freezing cold.

"Human, calm down ..." Now I scream at Temmie, who jumped out of my arms when I fell down: "You scratched me with your jump!" "iM sORY so sorrE, teM Wath sCart." Damn, I hate dying. I hate cold. I hate being here. Why can't I just die? Like forever? You tell me to rip myself together and to stay determined. Screw your determination! Swap place with me and do this crap yourself. I would gladly take your role, watching you and annoying you while you'd die over and over!

But complaining doesn't help and I have to try again, no matter what I want. I jump over the place where the trap was - just to step into another one, that makes a spikey plate comes over the wall and down on me.

You reset to the point before this trap. I feel pushed by you. You force me to go through all of this. You don't leave me a choice. Probably you could just let me die by not resetting, couldn't you? Huh. You're a human after all. I won't complain. I won't beg for your mercy. I'll go through this and wait for a moment to make you pay. I keep my thoughts for myself, not adressing you. You probably see my grief, but you don't react. It's not like it would have bothered you before or anything.

I avoid the second trap and walk some steps, just to notice - I walk into a dead end. Gladly Temmie doesn't say a word in this moment, or else I would have punched her in the face. The cold can't cool down my anger.

I go back and try out another path. There's one trap that's something that explodes under my foot, ripping me to pieces and you bring me back. I go forward - just to bump my already aching head against an ice wall that's invisible like glass, well at least if someone is paying more attention to their anger instead of their surroundings, like me. I really need to rip myself together. Damn, I was going fast because of the cold, but I need to go slow because of the stupid walls.

Just when I take a moment to think, Papyrus randomly appears and kills me. Oh, c'mon, not he too ...  
You bring me back. Papyrus isn't there the next time.

But there are more traps. Sharp ones, spikey ones, exploding ones. One that I run in and get trapped in strings, that tighen the more I move until they start to cut into my flesh and you reset to spare me from them. One that shoots arrows at me out of a ice wall. How is that even possible? Unless magic plays a role, that is.

Randomly Papyrus kills me. One time I spot a rectangle of snow on the path and think about why it is there - Papyrus appears behind me, pushs me and I step on something that turns out to be one of those trap holes again. One that's a rift in the ice below the path that doesn't kill me but where I would be stuck forever if you wouldn't reset.

One time Papyrus attacks me with a bunch of bones - which all miss, but they make me step back into another trap that buries me in snow, stones and pieces of ice. I swear I hear him laughing out loud.

So that's how it goes, huh? His only job now is to annoy me? Really?? Whatever. He alone can't do really much.

"Naps, they're here." I hear Papyrus voice and look for him. He's sitting on a wall of this labyrinth, pointing to me. The damn robot comes around a corner and shoots at me. I just turn around and run. No matter where I go, Papyrus keeps him on my path - until I run against a wall. Temmie screams. The impact throws me on my back and hold my aching forehead.

You reset to - I don't know? What are you thinking? Isn't it enough that you, I, it resets whenever I get killed? You calmly explain that you probably can't reset near the robot and you didn't want to take the risk. You tell me to stay determined. Hm, fine.

I try again, taking another path this time, I hear Papyrus calling again and spot him on another wall. After a short game of catch you reset. I hate you. You tell me to stay determined. You explain that what lets us humans win against monsters is our determination - Papyrus will get tired and give up sooner or later, that's our chance. You say we will find a way.

Haha, no, I'll find a way, you're just watching my steps doing nothing like always. You are the one filled with determination.

Another time I make my way until Papyrus turns the robot's attention to me. I stand there and wait. You ask why I'm not running away. Napstabot steps out, aims at me. Papyrus informs him that there is a a glassy ice wall between us. Why does he have to ruin everything? I escape. Papyrus tells Napstabot where I am, but at the same time this tells me where Napstabot is. I try to keep walls between us while looking for the right way (and dying in a trap once in a while).

I shiver in the cold. Papyrus notices my tactics and gets angry. He kills me himself and the next time I come back he's not sitting on the wall anymore. This doesn't appease me. It just means that he's looking for another way to annoy me.

When I don't step into another trap, occasionally I encounter some other monsters. It's like they're drawn to me on hunt for my soul, sometimes even attacking me from behind, but their small bullets only itch me before I kill them.

One kind looks like a miniature version of an ice berg, running on top of the walls, attacking me with a flow of ice. I run to the next crossing, take some steps to a direction where they can't follow me and act like I'm hurt to lure them down. When they leave the wall I can just kill them. Works everytime, stupid monsters.

Until my fimgers hurt so much from the cold I don't like to draw my knife anymore. Then I just outrun them. Temmie understands and doesn't insist that I kill them.

Another kind of monster looks like a small plane and they're so riddiculous. They're just passing by blowing fumes at me which do absolutely nothing. Except that it annoys me. Maybe the smoke could hide me, but it also draws attention to me and makes it harder ... no wait, it makes it easier for me to spot glassy ice walls. I just ignore them until they get tired and sit down somewhere, then I leave and hope they'll loose my track.

The shivering becomes so intense I can't control it anymore and my feet hurt form the cold. "I-i-is it j-just m-me or is it g-g-g-getting c-c-colder and c-colder?"

"Yes" Temmie confirms. "The Core produces magical electricity by sucking out the energy of it's surroundings. That's why." I wish I had a fur like her. At least on my hands and feet.

While I go forward I don't get bothered so often by monsters anymore. Maybe they lost interest or something. And I feel like I'm seeing the full spectrum of different traps that exist, so I'm not too suprised anymore when I step or fall into another one. You just bring me back one step before the trap and I'm fine again. They start to bore me. There isn't anything that interests me at the moment except when I'll leave this biting cold. Everything. Just. Hurts. I want to sit down and just die, but I know I can't. Just get me out of here, will you.

I nearly bump my head against a wall again, but I'm slow and somehow feel the cold emitting from that glass like wall? I hear a noise behind me and turn around, just to see how a wall comes up from the ground, blocking my path. I'm trapped. Seriously?

"Hey, human." I look up. Papyrus sits on one of the walls in a nonchalantly pose, hands in his pockets. "Y'know I was freeing you from Undyne 'cause I hoped you would bring my bro back, dontcha?" I don't know what to say and listen to you, but you stay silent, so I do, too.

"But now it seems pretty much like ya won't. No point in helping you ever again. So. If you keep on going. And Undyne grabs you again. It will become really ugly for ya. Understand?"

I wish that stupid skeleton would stop talking. I can't do anything for him. Has that ever crossed his mind? Probably not. I'm the evil one here. No one knows about you. How convenient, isn't it?

"I take your silence as a yes. So. Wish you much fun dying." I expect him to summon some bones again, but he just sits there, looking down on me. I consider throwing my knife at him, but I don't want to lose it. Actually I don't want to do anything while he watches. His staring makes me feel uncomfortable. Like a trapped animal in a zoo ... okay, bad comparison.

Cautiously I turn around, expecting an attack every moment. But nothing comes. My frozen feet hurt with every step. I approach the wall, looking for an exit, a small slit in the corner, anything. I search in all corners of my small prison, fruitless. I don't even like to search, because the cold seems to freeze my eyes. I drop Temmie, crouch down and start to dig into the snow below a wall, with my hands still in my sleeves. But the snow on the ground is hard and I can barely move anything. I take my knife to help me digging. But I hold in. Looking at my reflection on the blade. My cold fingers burn in pain. Oh how I wish I could use this to end all this. I could force you to reset. But I hate it. I don't want your help.

Slowly I start to dig into the ground. The cold numbs me. I'm so slow. It's so pointless. Papyrus will stop me before I reach the other side. And the ground is hard. It will take years to make a hole big enough for me.

I drop the knife. I think about picking it up again. Digging on, staying determined. Suddenly the pain is gone. I reach out to grab the knife, but my fingers won't move. I notice I don't need it anymore. Why would I dig my way out. It's not cold anymore. I get up and my feet feel funny.

"Human, what's going on?" I don't know what to tell Temmie, so I don't answer. Actually it's pretty warm here. I don't know why I was complaining all the time. I start to sweat. It's hot. I need to cool down. My clothes stick to me, wet of sweat. I take my shirt off. Temmie screams something I don't care about. There's no problem. Except it's still damn hot. I take my shoes and pants off as well. So much better. Now I'm tired. I lay down to sleep. Temmie keeps screaming at me, putting her paws onto my face. I push her away. "I'm tired. Just two minutes. Leave me alone." I close my eyes. Temmie keeps on annoying me. I hear Papyrus's voice. Temmie leaves me alone. Just two minutes ...

A headache wakes me up and I find myself near the entrance of the ice labyrinth. Damn it. You really hate me, don't you? Do you want me to live through everything again? But it becomes clear that now I know the way I should make it through the labyrinth fast enough to reach the exit before I freeze to death again. How stupid could I become?

Well, except that I forgot about Papyrus who guides Napstabot to other positions. And I forgot some of the traps and die again and again. But the overall way seems to be the same and I go as fast as I dare and as I remember where glass ice and mirrors were. Still the cold drains me out and I shake while running, which is even worse than shaking without moving! Damn it. There's nothing more I can do about that.

The hotel gets closer. Earlier I would have feared that Papyrus kills me any moment. But I froze at the inside. I have nothing to lose. I don't care anymore if he does, it doesn't change anything, so I don't fear him anymore.

The hotel gets even closer. When I run around another corner I can see it's entrance. Usually I would be happy, but it's too early for that. It could be taken from me anytime. Will someone kill me now? Will you reset? Nothing happens. Maybe I can get out of this cold at least.

Heavily shaking I stumble through the door and find myself in the lobby of a nice and warm hotel, where monsters are standing around, barely interacting with each other, mining their own businesses. There's also an entrance to a restaurant. I feel like falling down on my knees and kissing the warm carpet. At least for a second, before the monsters notice me and look at me like they always do, like I'm the most hateful being in the world.

"Just ignore me. I go to the castle and you'll never see me again" I mumble half loud to them. I drag myself to a heater and hold my hands in front of it until they're pins and needles when the warmth makes the blood rushing in again. The ice and snow on my clothes started to melt and to soak me. I scrap the last pieces off of me, but it's nearly too late. Then I also take my shoes off to warm my numb feet.

When I feel better I put my shoes back on and walk over to the elevator. Because of my wet closes I'm still uncomfortable and shaking. I push the button of the elevator, but nothing happens. I push again.

"It's not working, stupid" a blob informs me. I turn around to him. "You don't say." "Yeah, stupid, it's not working. A light would appear if it was working and someone would push the button. What do you think why we're all standing here?"

I take out my knife and turn him to dust. "Does someone else feel the need to call me names? No?" Nobody answers. They turn away and avoid to look into my eyes.

Temmie says: "If the elevator isn't working, the only other way is through the Core."

"Ok, whatever, through that door I guess?" I turn to a second exit.

"Yes, but you need to know: In the Core it's even colder than outside."

I feel the cold of foreshadowing sinking down onto me. "Are you kidding me? I was nearly freezing to death. How could I bear even more coldness?"

Temmie flattens her ears and looks at me in slight fear. "I'm just telling you how it is. Maybe you can find some warmer clothes here ..." "But they all avoid the cold using that stupid elevator and come here in summer dresses if anything!"

I have to check it by myself and leave through the exit, entering a hallway that is uncomfortably cold, but I can take that. I open the door at its end and a wall of cold air hits me as if I was looking into a freezer. I slam it close.

I return to the hotel. "What are you going to do?" Temmie asks, but I don't answer. I talk to the bunny at the reception: "I want a room. With heater."

"We don't have any rooms for your kind" she replies rudely.

"You sure? I can pay with my knife." I can be even more rude and take out my weapon, showing her the shining blade.

"That's enough. Piss off or I call the guards!"

"Oh, yeah? Go ahead. I turn them all to dust."

She stares at me, not replying. Then she sighes and hands me a key. Temmie laughs evily.

I go into the room, where I undress and hang my clothes over the heater. Then I want to take a nap in the bed and notice Temmie staring at me.

"What?" "I've seen that locket before. Where did you find that? I didn't know you have this." "Not your business."

"Yes, it is!" She jumps onto the bed in front of me. "Because there are only two of them in the whole underground." She calms down and tries to appease me. "As far as I know both are in the castle, but we haven't been there yet, so I guess I'm missing something here?"

"I found it when I fell down. That's all I know." I lie down and turn away to get some sleep until my clothes are dry.

Luckily nobody killed me in my sleep, so I wake up and put on my dry clothes. I hope the elevator is working again, or else I have to become really angry.

I leave the room and drop the key carelessly onto the floor. I enter the lobby and notice the elevator still isn't running. I call conspiracy.

"What are you doing now?" Temmie asks again. "The Core is still too cold for you."

"I heat it up." She'll see soon enough, no need for further explanation.

I enter the restaurant. "Hey, you're not allowed ..." I kill the bear that was guarding the door. Quickly I find the kitchen and kill everyone that complains. Temmie looks at me with shining eyes as if I'm her hero.

The stoves in the kitchen produce fire for cooking, as I notice when I turn one on. I turn up the heat and the flame becomes bigger and bigger, until I can't stand the heat anymore. Then I turn on another and another. Soon the kitchen blazes and the flames take over the furniture. It's beautiful. I could lose myself in watching the flames, but the air gets thick and I better leave.

I block the kitchen door, so it will stay open and allow the flames to take over the restaurant. I also block the door to the restaurant when I go back to the lobby. Monsters are fleeing the hotel, but some new ones are also entering, some water and fire monsters? Who are about to enter.

"Hey, what are you dong?" I block their way.

"We're firefighters!"

"No firefighting here" I decide and kill them. Monsters are so stupid. Everytime the are attacked they just stand there and barely try to dodge. That might be a good idea when aiming bullets and when your enemy does the same, but when facing me? Ha.

I grab a chair and block the hotel's entrance, so no-one else can enter. Now I enter the hallway to the Core, blocking the door as well and entering the Core, blocking its entrance door as well. Yeah, better. "Suck this, Core." Temmie said the Core was sucking the energy from its surroundings. Now the hotel was on fire and the Core pulls the heat into this icy hell, making it not warm, but at least it's not as cold that I would freeze to death so quickly.

"That ... that's just great" Temmie commends. "Why have I never tried that?" "Because you have no idea." She looks at me disappointed. But I think she knows that I'm right.

Inside the Core the path is nothing more than a layer of ice, transparent like glass. Below that there's a creepy nothingness. And with nothing I mean that there's darkness and I can't see a ground. I hope the temperature stays below the freezing point or I'll be in trouble. The frozen darkness seems to call me and I imagine how it was like to fall down, where my shattered bones would freeze to the ground. With some luck it was cold enough so that time itself freezes and I would never come back. Not even you could bring me back. You tell me to not imagine such terrible things. Because you could feel something down there and my imagination might be more realistic than I expect.

Soon I notice that the pathes in the Core are a labyrinth and I run into a lot of dead ends: control rooms, storage rooms, puzzle rooms? Nothing useful. When I can't see the light of the entrance anymore, I start to scratch arrows with my knife into the path that tell me the way out, just in case.

I run around clueless about where the exit is and I discover new rooms all the time that look very similar to the ones I've seen before. Soon I start to shiver again. Damn it. I could swear I've just carved an arrow into the path of this crossing before I searched through this section. Or did I make a mistake and this is another crossing? Did I make the scratches not deep enough? I carve in a new arrow that points to where I just came from. No, looks good for me.

"I could swear we have been here before" Temmie states.

"No, we haven't, or do you see one of the arrows I carve in all the time? If you can't tell me where the exit is, shut up."

Temmie doesn't answer, so that's settled then.

I keep on exploring, shaking and discontented. My fingers are red and I hate how they freeze more and more everytime I take the knife out to carve another arrow.

"I heard that the inside of the Core can change it's pathes" Temmie says. "I never went through it by myself. I always sneeked into the elevator along with other monsters." I dig my fingers deeper into Temmie's warm fur and imagine what comfortable gloves I could make out of them.

I return to a crossing where I've been before and my arrow is still there. I try out another path. I find more rooms, even rooms with deactivated puzzles in it. Do I need to activate them, so I can solve them and they'll open an exit? But I'm not in the mood to solve them anyway, because my shivering intensifies and my teeth shutter so loud and hard I can't bear it anymore. Time to go out and take a break.

I leave the room and return to the last crossing, but there's no arrow. "Hm, did the last room had two exits?" Temmie answers: "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention." Some of the rooms, especially the storage rooms are so much filled up with boxes and crap that I sometimes find myself taking the wrong exit. "Let's go back and check then." Indeed, after thouroughly searching I even find two more exits and one leads to a crossing with an arrow. But the arrow after that just points to another room with several exits I hadn't noticed before. I think about carving arrows into the metal ground, but I wouldn't want to damage my knife and my fingers are so cold I can't hold the knife anymore anyway.

I try out all of the exits I find, but neither of the crossings after that have an arrow. One path leads to another storage room which is the only option left, but I can't remember to have seen this constellation before? My feet hurt from the cold and I'm getting tired. I sit down on a box to rest.

"What are you doing? You can't rest here" Temmie scolds me.

"Just a minute" I reply and close my eyes. But you also start to annoy me and to tell me not to rest here. I'm not tired, I'm cold. I need to get out. I guess you're right.

I ask you to reset and to bring me back to the entrance of the Core. I wait. Hey, what takes you so long? You say that something is making it hard for you, probably those cube is near. Then I'm back at the entrance, waiting for the headache to fade. Just as my body resets injuries I'm also feeling warmer again.

"Good idea. We're probably lost" Temmie comments. But this got me an idea. I suspect the cube is at the other exit of the Core with some enemy who awaits me. So can you just check now and then how hard it is for you to reset, without you're actually doing that?

You say yes. Resetting here feels easy, so it might work out. Cool. I'm lucky for once.

I follow the path to the next crossing. I take some steps into one direction, asking you to check, then I take some steps to the other direction, asking you to check again. You inform me that you're not sure, but the right way feels harder. And in this labyrinth the direct way might not be the one that leads to our destination. Yeah, but let's try this anyway.

Now with you as my compass I carve in an arrow again. Let's see if it's still there when I eventually come back.

I reach another crossing and let you check again. The direction you suggest leads me to a storage room, a dead end. I go back and ask you for the second best direction. The arrow is still there. In the new direction I get to another crossing, from where the best way leads me to another dead end, some kind of maintenance room with pipes and cables. You say the feeling is weaker than in that storage room. Hence I go back to the crossing and to the crossing before that - oh, who could have guessed. The arrow I had carved into the path is gone. I check the ground where I remember it, but I don't see anything. Impossible.

"Something or maybe someone must've erased the arrows I carved into the ice" I note. Temmie frowns. "They all hate us. They want to see us suffer. Let's just leave this place."

I enter the storage room. Yes, you confirm that here's the place where it's hardest to reset. I start to rearrange the boxes in the room.

"I think they're fooling us" I explain before Temmie asks again. "I think they hid the way to the exit. And I suspect the way to be here." "Why?" "Why? Uh, oh ... why ..." Huh, how to put this without mentioning you ... "Because they erased the arrow in front of this room, right?" "yEs muNSTers dunt WaNt uZ 2 Com baCK heer." Uh, Temmie is annoying when she speaks like that.

I uncovered every piece of wall from boxes, but there's no way. "Temmie, can you find a hidden doorway using your nose?" "nUh munsterZ Dunt Smel." So I start knocking on the walls. They all sound hollow. But one part sounds more hollow then the others. I take my knife out, loosing the screws on the wall, levering the plates open. There it is. Another icy path. I put the knife away and put my freezing hands into my pockets.

"There we go" I say, making Temmie cry tears of joy and I go on asking you for directions.

Finally, at the end of the path I spot an elevator. An elevator? I hope it's working after the ones in the hotel areen't. For now it's so far away anyway. Napstabot is blocking the path, holding this damn cube again. Can you reset? You say no and tell me to stay determined.

"Human!" He shouts angrily. "You've come far enough. Not only have you killed half of my employees, but you've burnt my empire down! If Undyne wouldn't demand your body in one piece, I would rip you apart with my bare hands!"

"Yeah, whatever" I say bored. "Do we fight now or what? It's damn cold here in case you don't have sensors for that." I put Temmie down and tell her to stay away.

With an angry scream that reminds me of Undyne he puts out some laser and shoots beams at me, which I dodge. Of course I can't really dodge something that literally moves at the speed of light, but I can see where he aims at and his aiming is lousy. Also he can't shoot constantly, but has to take breaks between his attacks like every monster.

The dodging warms me up. The robot seems to be torn between coming closer to me and to easier hit me or to guard the elevator. Of course I would try to just run past him and escape. So he changes his tactics: He puts his cuboid case down to the ground and starts to transform. He draws arms and legs in. The upside opens and some turntables come out, along with a human-like head and a new pair of arms. The front opens and some speakers come out. You drop me some lines, but I ignore them.

Now he gets new attacks. Instead of the laser beams he makes noise which flies out of the speakers as bullets in form of music notes. They're worse aimed than the laser beams, but they're flying at me like a storm, hard to dodge. I decide to run toward them - when I can't dodge them for long anyway, I better try to reach and kill him before he kills me.

I dodge. But more and more bullets hit me the closer I get. I doubt I'm doing it right, but you tell me again to stay determined. How shall I stay 'determined' when I'm about to die? I don't want to die for you. Unless you tell me that the impossibility of resetting was just a joke don't play with me, you hear me??

I try to protect my face from the bullets by covering it with my arm as the next wave hits me. The pain increases. I'm getting tired and deep inside I wish one of the bullets would end all this, but I still fight and run as far as I can while the robot takes another break.

I'm nearly there, but the next storm hits me with all is might, nearly all bullets hitting me. That's it, then. I feel my soul is close to shatter. But your spirit embraces me and holds it together. It hurts, it hurts so much. Please, please just let me die. But you refuse. It has been you all the time, haven't it? I always wanted to die, but it was your determination that kept me alive. But why? I thought you would kinda like me, but you put me through so much suffering with your advice. Instead of answering you just tell me to stay determined.

More bullets hit me and I scream in pain. I take some more steps and finally reach the robot. I rip the cube out of his hands and take some steps back. "Hey! Give it back!" He starts to transform back into his cuboid form to chase after me, but the transformation takes some time.

I fight the pain back and try to concentrate. I remember how Papyrus smashed the cube to the ground to cause a reset. I ask you to tell me how I can deactivate it without resetting. You think about it.

I take some more steps away from the robot and take my knife. Every movements hurts. I loose the screws with it and push it into the slit between two plates, levering it open.

Oh. My. Gosh. Inside the cube I find a pumping heart, which suspiciously looks like a human one. It's hanging between tubes and wires I suspect to keep it alive.

I also remember how Undyne somehow manipulated it to reset. So I rip out the wires first.

You say you feel no change.

Time to take it's will to live, right?

"You're so stupid. You let a fish manipulate you. Look at yourself, just a heart, helpless like a baby. Oh, wait, you can't look at yourself, what a shame. You're so useless. Nobody needs you. Please go and kill yourself. Oh, you're even too stupid and useless to kill yourself. I mean, you probably climbed on Mount Ebott to kill yourself, because you knew you're useless and nobody wants you. But you failed, you loser. Do the world a favor and just die, you useless piece of shit."

You say you feel something. You say it loses it's will to live and you feel the power of determination returning to you. And you say I'm mean. Oh, a mean human, who could have guessed.

I turn the opening away from me and stab the knife right into the heart. Then I drop the cube with the dead organ onto the ground. And turn back to Napstabot. The blood on my hand gives me warmth for some moments, but quickly cools down and makes them freeze even more.

"Doesn't matter" he says. "I'm strong enough without it to kill you."

I laugh out loud. "You really have no idea what this was good for, right?" Confused he looks at me.

He puts himself down and transforms back into his DJ-form or whatever to call it. And he summons a storm of bullets. I'm already too injured and the few that hit me are enough to kill me.

I find myself again at the beginning of the room. Napstabot steps out and starts his beginning speech, showing me the intact cube in his hands. He doesn't remember. What do you say? The heart probably remembers. You can still reset. That's hilarious.

Again he puts himself down and transforms into his DJ-form. I just waited for that and run closer to him while the transformation takes its time.

He starts to attack me and I know his bullet patterns so well they're easy to dodge. I wouldn't need the possibility to reset now, but it was good to know it was there. You tell me to spare him, but I don't care for what you want. When I reach the robot, I take out the knife, stab into the speakers which electrocutes me and then I stab everywhere between plates and joints where weak spots seem to be, until he collapses lifelessly.

With freezing hands I take the cube and show the heart some mercy by killing it again.

At the end of the room I finally step into the warmth of the elevator and out of this freezing hell.

_Read on in chapter 8 - Silence._


	7. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne is sending her hate at me and I freeze a lot.

I look on a snowy landscape and grab Papyrus's jacket tighter. It could be a nice view if it wouldn't get colder with every step. "Why is every area in the underground so hostile?" I wonder.

"It isn't. It's perfect for the monsters that live in each area. You're not supposed to feel well here" Temmie answers.

Between ice walls and icicles the snow flakes become denser. I don't see much in this winter landscape, but I can spot a building, which I reach after some more minutes of walking. "Don't enter" Temmie recommends. "You can go that way over there." "Why?" She flattens her ears. "I got some really bad memories here." "No, I mean, why would I want to enter? It's not like this is some kind of game where I can walk into houses and loot the shelfs and drawers." I laugh out loud.

"Stop it." Temmie looks angry. "It's a public lab. Monsters may enter it to ask for medical treatment. Which they get if what they pay is enough. And Undyne doesn't hate them. Or some might enter to warm themselves up. It costs just a grain of dust."

I take out my phone and call Sans. "Hello human. When are you ..." "Master, what can you tell me about Undyne and her lab?" "Oh, Undyne is the Royal Scientist. I heard she's inventing weapons for our war against humanity. And researches a way to destroy the barrier. And she's a doctor, too. So many things at once." "Yeah." This is Papyrus's voice. "You can say: She's got a lot of manpower." Sounds like Sans stayed in Rustleleaves to fool around with Papyrus. "Papyrus. Be a good slave and go back to work." Sans sighes and his voice gets a bit louder when he probably turns back to the phone and me. "You better not enter. She'll be pretty pissed after you killed Alphys. There are rumors that Undyne helped Alphys become the Head of the Royal Guards." "Thanks, master." I hang up.

"Well, let's have a quick look then" I say with a big grin to Temmie when I see her annoyed face. "Aww, don't worry little cat. We can reset if it gets to hot in there." "No, you can't." I look at her, not comprehending. "What? Are you that pissed now, cat?" "No!" she shouts angry, then pulls herself together. "i tOlt ya beD meMries. tEM cAnt reseT In ceLLer oF lAp." "Okay, geez. You can stay outside if you want." I put her down, but she jumps back into my arms. "dOnt LeF tEM!" "Okay, okay. I will not go into the cellar and we will be fine, ok?" She nods with tears in her eyes and a drop of frozen snot at her nose. You inform me that you've never encountered a place where you could not reset. Despite the surface, that is.

I walk some more minutes until I reach the entrance. Temmie hides herself between the wide sleeves of the jacket. The door of the lab opens before me automatically.

I enter the lab. The light is off, hence only the light from outside lets me see anything. I'm walking over tiles of a big, almost empty room. Some sofas are standing in a sitting corner. I pass them while my eyes slowly adapt.

In the twilight of the lab I spot something close to the wall. It looks like a half empty pallet of ... chocolate? I'm getting hungry. "Oh my, I'm in heaven." I jump to it, drop Temmie, grab as much as my hands can hold and look at it marveling. Temmie says: "No." Then I stuff the bars into my pockets. "Human, stop it." Temmie jumps onto the pallet, laying a paw on my hands. "Don't eat this." "Why? I know that brand. It's my favorite chocolate from the surface." "But ... but it's not for you ..." "Who cares, I haven't eaten anything for hours!"

"Hey!" A shout cuts the air and interrupts me. I turn around. In the twilight I see a person coming out of an open door. Her white coat nearly shines. This must be Undyne. "One grain of dust for entering, another one for a snack. Didn't someone teach you any manners?" She turns on the light and stops. We're looking at each other. She has a green-blue slimy skin, fins instead of ears, long red hear which she wears in a pony tail and webbed hands. A humanoid fish-like monster.

"You ..." she says. "You're the human. The human that killed Alphys. In that case ..." Suddenly she shouts loudly: "I demand every drop of blood from your body!"

She has such a strong voice I'm jerking from the sudden shout. She's so thin that loudness came unexpected. I prepare myself for an attack, but Undyne just stays there. She turns her head and shouts again, as loud as before: "Napstabot!" Her voice seems to shake the building, that's how loud she is.

Temmie whispers to me: "I don't know this Napstabot, but we should probably leave."

A door opens and a robot comes in. Well, it's a metal cube with arms and a wheel, with a screen and some buttons on the front.

"Hello my dear listeners" he says and gets interrupted by my loud laugh. Laughing I hold my tummy while pointing to him. "You're sending a giant calculator at me? Your nerves, woman."

Undyne stares at me as if I was braindead. The she shouts to the robot: "What are you waiting for? Stop with those crap and get them!"

I throw the chocolate bars I still have in my hands into the robot's direction and manage to dodge the first laser beams he shoots at me.

Quickly I run to the entrance while constantly looking to the robot so I can dodge the attack he sends at me - which are not well aimed anyway, because he's talking all the time to those ominous listeners. But the automatic door doesn't open, so I head to the sitting corner and crouch down. This gives me some time to breath. The laser beams are to weak to cut through the sofas.

"I've got an idea" Temmie says. "Do you see those moving walkway over there?" She points to it with her head. "This leads to Undyne's private room. You can escape through this." "But it moves toward us ..." "Yeah ..." She frowns her face. "You ... uh ... probably have to get rid of some ballast to be fast enough." "You want me to throw away my chocolate??" I would rather face the robot and keep the chocolate, but he's made of metal and I'm not desperate enough to try stabbing him with my knife.

I growl. "Fine." Quickly I empty my pockets, keeping just three bars. That's okay for me. Actually it's pretty much compared to what I ate the last hours - nothing. You ask if I'm on diet to stay slim for my admirers. I tell you that line is a bit choco-late.

I jump up and run to the moving walkway and up on it. I feel stupid and slow.

"Napstabot! They're running to my room! If they break something, I blame YOU for it!" Undyne shouts. Over my shoulder I see the robot reaching the walkway and rolling onto it - the walkway moves by below him, taking his wheel backwards - and he falls down onto his front. I nearly lose my balance from laughing. What a jerk.

I reach the top and stay there for some time, just laughing out loud and holding my tummy until Temmie orders: "Stop it!"

"Yeah. From laughing I just got a - temmie-ache." While she facepalms I take a look around the room, searching for an exit. I see a window which I can probably open, but what also catches my attention is Undyne's desk. I see blueprints of the robot, papers with unreadable scribbles and also a lot of scrunched sheets in a wastepaper basket. One paper lies on the table, half finished, written with care, the ink still wet. I read. "Dear Alphys, I just can't seem to find the right words to describe what I feel for you. The way you're ruthless to your enemies, yet still feel sorry for them. You faced so many obstacles, yet never gave up. I want to crush your enemies. I want to make you feel safe." Reads also like a candidate for the trash.

"Look, Temmie. Monsters feel love, too" I note slightly surprised.

"No, they don't. They just form alliances to crush their enemies and maybe fall in each other's backs after that. Come on, we don't have much time."

I want to disagree, but I don't want to stay longer anyway. I open the window, an icy breeze blows into my face. The ground is not that far and it's covered by a lot of snow. I can make it. Temmie jumps out of my arms. "Just go ahead, I follow you."

I climb out and let myself down until I hang with straight arms from the frame, then I fall and let myself fall backwards into the snow when my feet hit the ground. The snow slows down my fall, but the impact is hard anyway and I don't feel like doing that again. As a cat Temmie just jumps out the window and lands on the ground just fine.

I dig myself up and get to the path, where the snow is tight and easy to walk on.

I take out the phone and I'm dumb enough to use my bare fingers to pick Sans's number. "Hi my dear human, why won't you ..." "Sans, Undyne sent a battle robot at me. Can't you convince her to leave me alone? You're stronger than her, aren't you?" "Yeah, physically I'm stronger. But Undyne has her own methods. Sorry, I don't mess with her."

"Why would I want to be your slave if you can't protect me?" I tease him. "It's the least I can expect from a true master, don't you think so? I mean, as a slave I would dedicate my life to you, so you should take good care of it, right?"

"Honey, honey." Sans sighes. "You're right. I see what I can do for you. I have to make a call. Bye." He hangs up and I snicker. Let's see what he's good for.

When I pick Temmie up again, she just complains like always: "That was unnecessary. We're fine on our own. You did your best and everything is fine." I'm tired of arguing with her and don't answer.

The path leads me to an area where high ice walls are getting closer and closer to the path until the path evades the ice walls, curving itself around them, splitting itself and joining itself again until I find myself in a labyrinth. Now I notice that some of the ice walls aren't just plain walls: some of them are transparent like glass and some are reflecting like mirrors. Well, not really like mirrors, but it's hard to tell on the first look. So actually I have no idea how many pathes there really are of if I'm walking on the only one which is just reflected over and over.

"So, where to go now?" I ask Temmie. She points to the horizon. "Over there is the Core and in front of that is a hotel. It has an elevator from where we can go to the Queen's castle, where there is a way out of the underground." I ask if that's where you want me to go to and you confirm.

"Yeah, but how do we get there from here?" I specify my question. "Uh, oh ..." Temmie hesitates. "I ... I don't know. It looks so different than the last time I was here ... I remember it was just a straight path."

I call Sans again: "I'm in the labyrinth in Coldsea. How do I get to the Hotel?" I ask before Sans has the chance to say anything.

"I always took Undyne's tunnel when I needed to get to New Home."

"Master, you disappoint me." Some moments of silence. I quietly giggle when I imagine him squeezing the phone in anger.

"Look, it's a static labyrinth. Just go forward. You'll reach the hotel sooner or later." Of course he doesn't admit if he has no idea.

I hang up, sigh and try out a path that leads into the right direction - until I bump my head at a ice wall that looks like glass. It's not only that it hurts, I could take that, but it's so cold. "You should be more careful. Walk slower" Temmie comments.

"But moving fast keeps me warm" I complain, but move slower anyway. Then I go faster again, because I move back on the path backwards that I just came on, looking for another turn - and bump my head again. I curse.

"No, you came from the left" Temmie reminds me. You suggest to use the chocolate to mark the walls, so I could see them better.

Not my chocolate! Have you an idea how big this labyrinth is? I have eaten nothing since the fall and I might use everything up before I'm through this?

I takes three more bumps until I give in, sigh and take out a bar. I unfoil it, holding it with my hand still in the sleeve. What a waste. I draw a brown mark onto an ice wall, just as much as needed to make it visible.

When I walk around a corner, I suddenly face Napstabot and jump back. He aims at me, shoots - but the laser beam hits the ice wall that has been unnoticed by both of us until now and burns a whole into it. I just run and hope to be far away if he break through or if he decides to take another path.

Maybe the chocolate stripes on the walls are not a good idea? I hope he's stupid enough to not notice them. To be sure I draw on all walls at a crossing and don't mark walls until I really need to, so he won't know which path I took. The further the incident with the robot lies in the past, the more it hurts me to waste the chocolate.

Occasionally monsters jump in my way, looking carefully around before attacking me. I consider to call Sans to threat them, but you have a better idea and drop me some lines. One monster that looks like a small ice berg runs on top of the walls and attacks with some ice flowing down into my direction, but I dodge. "Hey, it's not nice to show me the cold shoulder." You tell me what to say and I repeat: "You're so cold, you probably need a hug to warm you up." Their ice turns slightly pink like they're blushing and stops their attack for a moment. Wait, you want me to really hug it? Bah, the monster is damn cold and I hate hugs.

Still, I come closer with open arms as if I would and they escape.

I use up the last piece of the chocolate bar and cry internally when I wrap up the second one. I would pray that I don't use up all the chocolate before I reach the hotel, if I was sure it would make a difference.

Is it just me or is it getting colder? I begin to shake and fill my mind with nice imaginations of the warm sun.

Also I meet Napstabt from time to time, but either there is a transparent ice wall between us or he hits one of the mirrors when shooting at me, which just melt at the contact point, revealing that obstacle. I should be happy about that, probably. But after I stop wondering I don't really care. All my thoughts circle around getting out of the cold.

Another type of monster that attacks me from time to time looks like a plane of about the size of an eagle. They're not attacking me directly, but fly around closely passing me, blowing a cloud of steam at me. You say they think they could poison me with their fumes. How riddiculous. "The only toxic thing here is your behaviour." I raise my knife and let them fly into it the next time it tries to pass me. You say that was unnecessary. Yeah, yeah.

The next time one of that kind attacks me I spare them by ignoring them until they give up and leave crying. Cool, that's even more hilarious. You just shake your invisible head. That's just before I use up my second chocolate bar.

I take out my phone, holding it with my hand still in the sleeve, so my fingers won't freeze. "Hi, human" Sans says. "How about I give you a puzzle and if you can't solve it, you grant me a wish?"

"I-I was just wondering how much colder it will get on my way" I say shaking. Ignoring his schtick just works well. He never changes the topic back to it.

"Oh, probably a lot more. You see, the Core produces magical electricity by sucking out the energy of its surroundings. That's why it gets colder and colder the closer you get to the Core. You can always return to our nice and warm home in Sunnedout." "Hmpf."

I just hang up and put the phone away. I hate the cold. Still my progress until now fills you with determination. Temmie already omplains again. "That was so unnecessary. I could have told you that." I wish she would stop being so unhelpful.

I resist using the third chocolate bar. I move on without it, carefully reaching out a hand in a sleeve, feeling for obstacles while keeping a fair speed. Until I feel like I got lost again. With a heavy heart and a sigh I take out the third bar. The hotel over the walls seems to be very close. The only thing I now want more than a bar of chocolate is a cup of hot chocolate.

I encounter Papyrus in another station. This time he's selling tea. "Hey honey. Wanna buy a cup of tea? Might warm your bones." I bet this is to be taken literally. "You don't really think I fall for that after you throw that cake into my face?" I hiss at him. He winks. "It's not that bad. You survived it, didn't you? C'mon, I won't pour the tea over you." "Yeah, right." I pass by without another word.

Temmie comments: "Papyrus wouldn't mess with you like that if you just had killed his brother!" "Oh, right?" I tease her. "What was it with you and Sans again that you hate him that much?" "I don't want to talk about that." "Stop telling me to kill all the time and I stop asking that."

I take out my phone. "What are you ..." she begins, but shuts up when I dial Sans's number. "Hi, human. How about a date with Papyrus and me? You can bring your cat, too. We could make great use of a fourth attendant." "Thanks. I'm just calling because it annoys her. You already did well. Bye." I giggle. Temmie screams in anger. "Stop with that crap! That's not how you should treat a friend." "Oh, I see." I snicker when I say: "Your relationship with Sans was probably a ... cat-astrophe." Temmie cries. You call me mean. Come on, that was funny.

I go on drawing my way through the labyrinth. The bar disappears along with my hope of tasting a bite of that melty sweetness. I try to make my peace with that. At least I will be out of that cold. Two small pieces of the last bar are left. Then I spot a path that looks different from the ones before. Wider and brighter. Can it be? I go closer. Oh yes, at the end of the path is the hotel. I'm nearly there. That means the last chocolate is for me.

I look at the last piece in my hand and can't believe it. Could this be meant for me? After all that time?

A bright light hits my hand, burns me. The black burned chocolate melt drops into the snow. It's Napstabot, aiming at me from a sideway.

"Take care, human! Next time I won't miss." I'm burning in anger. I hate him. I want to destroy him.

"No, human, just run, I'm sure they have chocolate in the Hotel" Temmie tries to convince me and pushes her paws against my arms to get my attention.

Suddenly some of the walls collapse and block the path between me and the robot. I stare at it. I can't say I'm happy about that.

Damn it. My fingers are even too cold to hold the knife anyway. Wait for it, Napstabot, I'll get you and kill you twice - once for me and once for my chocolate.

I run away clenching my fists I hope the pain of my fingernails will ease the pain of losing the chocolate. I really shouldn't be that childish about some chocolate. There are more important things for now, like getting out of that cold. I reach the hotel entrance.

I open the door and a wall of nice and warm air greets me. That's what I call a warm welcome. I spot a door leading to a restaurant. In the hotel's lobby monsters are standing, barely interacting with each other. Until they notice me and watch me with hate like they always do.

"Hi everyone!" I call with a theatralically happy voice. "You're all just so cute if you're angry!" They look at me as if I'm out of my mind. You giggle.

I walk to the elevator and push the button to call it, but nothing happens. I push again to make sure I push hard enough.

"It's not working, stupid" a blob nearby informs me. "If it would a light would appear if you push the button. What do you think why we're all standing here? Are there no schools where you come from?"

"Nice hat" I reply, ignoring what he said. "Suits you very well." He shuts down and just stares at me, not knowing what to say. You give me something like thumb up. Flirting always wins.

Temmie informs me: "If the elevator isn't working, the only other way is through the Core."

I spot the second exit, but my hunger insists that I take a look at the restaurant. The door is guarded by a bear. "Hey, you're not allowed to enter. You have no reservation."

"How can you know? We've never met each other."

"Exactly." I roll my eyes. Then, from the inside, a very well known monster steps out.

"Oh, but we've got an appointment with each other and I've got a reservation." Papyrus winks at me.

The bear yields and lets me pass. I put the complaining Temmie down and tell her to wait.

Papyrus guides me in and to our table.

I really, really hope to finally get something to eat. We sit down. Where is the menu? Where is the waiter?

Papyrus begins to speak: "I wanted to tell you something. Well, thanks for not killing my brother back them. I know he behaves weird and says things that make people uncomfortable. He wasn't always like this. Y'know, life's harsh down here. When we were younger we were confronted all the time. Monsters already weren't allowed to kill each other - not if anyone notices, that is. Instead they tried to provoke us into fighting them. And could declare it self defense. One day Sans flirted with one of the attackers - I thought it would make them angry, but instead they got flustered and left. Hence Sans learned that if he behaves like this monsters would leave him alone. I support him in everything, so we set up that roleplay, y'know, he's the master and I'm his slave. It made our life so much easier. So, uh, thanks. We are not innocent or anything, but it's not like we have a choice down here."

"Does that mean ..." I lean forward on my chair, staring at Papyrus without blinking. "... that Sans is actually scared of me?" I lean back and laugh out loud. The other monsters in the restaurant look at me like at a weirdo, but I don't care. That's just hilarious. I mean I'm not that weak or anything, but this is the monsters's place and they outnumber me by far. And, I don't know, they could've just talked to me instead of trying to kill me?

"That's not what I meant" Papyrus says bored with a hand under his chin. 

"Aww, yes you do. You're all acting so aggressive, because you fear me and my sweet little knife. But don't worry. I understand and I don't seek your extinction. I would fear me, too, if I would fall to dust after one hit."

"Don't test my patience" Papyrus says calmly. "We're stronger than you think."

"Whatever."

We keep looking each other into the eyes for some seconds. Then Papyrus stands up. "Well, that's all I wanted to tell ya for now. See ya." He goes into a corner behind a fir tree - a corner where there is definetly no exit, but when I get up and look he's gone. Huh, no food again. Are they going to starve me to death? They just make me grumpy.

I leave the restaurant, pick Temmie up again and head to the elevator, but it's still out of order. Temmie lets me know that we don't have a choice but to take the other path right through the heart of the Core. So I go forward through the second exit, entering a hallway when my phone rings. It's Sans.

"Hey, Paps told me you're about to enter the Core. So you're serious about that, huh? The phone's radiation will be blocked by the Core. We won't be able to talk anymore if you enter it. After that you will meet the Queen and she ... Huh. I hoped we could go on roleplaying as master and slave."

"What? I thought you would be ... just denying ..."

"Of course I wasn't serious all the time, do you think I'm that stupid?" He laughs. "I was secretly hoping you would like the roleplay and would finally become my slave, after everything else didn't work out. Anyway. It was a pleasure to meet you. Take care. You'll always have a special place in my shed."

"Uh, thanks I guess." 

"Anyway. Queen Toriel is probably the nicest monster in the Underground. I would really prefer if you would not kill her."

"No promises. Bye." I hang up.

Temmie grumbles: "You don't believe him, do you? He's lying. He would use any opportunity to enslave you and just plays your friend because he can't."

I crawl her ears. "Aww Temmie. You never really tried to befriend him, did you?"

"No, why would I do something that stupid ..." "Then shut up. You have no idea."

I enter the Core and it's like stepping into a freezer. I let Temmie in my jacket so we can keep each other warm. I can barely see anything behind the clouds of my breath and it's so dark I couldn't see more than some steps far anyway. As if the Core would even suck up he light. I hide my hands in my sleeves, holding them shut from the inside and grab Temmie tighter. Damn, I wish I was a skeleton. A monster one, not a dead human one. So I would have no skin and won't feel the cold.

When my eyes get used to the light I see myself walking over pathes made of ice like glass, without handrails, only the darkness beside and below it. Or the ground is too far away for me to see. I get chills when I imagine that it's so cold down there that the ground freezed to death and even time itself freezed down there. I better stay in the middle of the path.

The inside of the Core is like a labyrinth. I follow pathes into some kind of control rooms with lots of buttons, switches and displays. I find storage rooms full of strange tools and components. But I don't take my time to have a closer look, because I'm starting to shake again. I hate this cold. This is not how I want to die.

When I leave a room, I find an arrow scratched into the ice of the path. I'm sure it hasn't been there before. Is it a hint? Is it a trap? I don't have much options.

I follow the arrow and find another one the ground and another one and so on. The shaking of my body increases and I start walking faster to keep myself warm. It's so damn cold. I hate to move myself, because the slight wind that is caused by that sucks warmth out of me, but at the same time I need to move to produce warmth. I just wish I could be somewhere else.

At the end of a path I spot an elevator and hope it's working. But before I can reach it there's another obstacle. Napstabot is back.

"Hello human. This is our final battle. Our dear listeners ..." "Just shut up and get to the point, it's damn cold." "Don't be rude. I've got a special ..." He takes out some kind of cube. But I take out my knife and attack him before he has a chance to explain what the deal with this thing is. My knife scratches over his metal body, leaving a deep mark. It doesn't kill him nor does he feel any pain, but I don't care and this makes me feel so much better. Hate is burning inside of me, warming me up. Why does he have to block my path in this freaking cold, just before the elevator?

You ask me to spare him. Can you at least tell me how I could kill him anyway? I mean, how would I avoid to kill him if I don't know how to kill him in the first place?

"Oh, no, human, I lose ratings. The listeners are bored. Let me explain this to increase the tension." "I can increase the tension in your case instead." I keep on making deep scratches into his case that he doesn't really care for except that he wants to tell everyone some things and can't.

"Human, stop it!" He pushes me away and I let him, giving him a big smile. "Okay. I'm warm again. You can tell me now."

He looks at me in surprise. While he gives some dramatic explanation to the listeners about how I'm going to die now, you inform me that there's something strange about that cube. You say you can't turn back time at the moment. Wait, what? You state that I better not die here, because it would be permanent. What?? Well, not that I would care that much. I would just prefer if my death would kill a lot of humans and if my body doesn't get experimented on. Now it's your turn to say: Wait, what? Yeah, you got me.

"Yes, you heard right" Napstabot says dramatically. "This item by the great Dr. Undyne has as much determination as a human being. Which will prevent the human from going all out." I think he doesn't know how the cube really works or what humans can do. So he puts it like this. But Undyne probably knows, how else could she have invented something like this?

"Now it's time for me to end you. Give me everything you've got. 'Cause I won't lose anyway. And to entertain our dear listeners who can't watch our fight I will put on some music to fit your journey of lose and failure." You start to drop me pickup lines.

"The only thing I lost to you is my heart" I say loudly. "My only failure was to not show you my true feelings before." You're holding your belly laughing, or however to express your equivalent for that. Napstabot stares at me for some seconds. Then I guess he checks his rating, because he shouts in exitement: "What's this? People are actually watching my show? Those philistines are interested in the art I produce? Well, if that's the case they can get what they want."

He puts his metal case on the ground, drawing in arms and legs. The case opens and some turntables are coming out along with a human-like head and a new pair of arms. The front opens and shows a pair of speakers. "Let's begin!" I put my knife away. When he puts on loud music, the sound he creates shoots at me from he speakers in form of bullets shaped as music notes. I try to stay calm and dodge. No dying you said, so better not rushing it.

You turn my attention to the fine electronics which are now exposed to the cold. You suggest that I just hold out until he shuts down from the cold, no need to kill. As a robot he probably doesn't feel the cold and won't notice. I say I see what I can do.

"You're so Heavy Metal, you rock my world" I shout at him. He holds in for some seconds, seemingly not knowing what to do, while the music plays on, but without his sound effects. Oh, cool, if I can startle him with flirting so much that he holds in all the time he will just freeze faster. He catches himself and starts mixing his own sounds again, while commenting all the time about what's happening for the 'dear listeners' who can't see it. And he distracts himself with all that talking, so his bullets are badly aimed. What a loser.

I shout: "Do you have WiFi? Cause I feel a special connection between us." He gets startled again and I think I see some ice crystals growing between the segments of his arms. He notices it too, looking at one of his arms in surprise. I think he would just give up or go on like a total loser.

But instead he says: "We don't have all day. Let's drop the show and start the real fight" then he turns up the volume. The loud music gives me a weak headache and the sounds he now mixes in fly at me like a storm. I can't dodge them all. Some are hitting me, giving me shocks, making my flesh vibrate in the moment they hit. Damn it. He is still a loser.

"I know you love me. I can catch a signal." I change my mind and want to get close enough to kill him, but the bullet storm is denser close to him, so I shouldn't do it. I change my mind again. You tell me to breath out more clouds into the air, so Napstabot will have problems to aim at me. Yeah, right, but why would he need to aim a storm in the first place? I do it anyway and fill the air between me and the robot with the fog of my breath.

Still, the robot shoots at me. I dodge, at least most of the bullets. I feel becoming weaker. More bullets. Beside the cold of the area now I feel the cold of death creeping up on me as well. But I also notice the robot becoming weaker and weaker with each of his attacks. But will he pass out before me?

No, he won't. I can't take that many more hits and sink down on one knee, paralized by pain and weakness. I wan't to dodge the bullets, but more of them hit me.

Before the last bullet hits me, I suddenly find myself beside that position - with a slight headache as always. The bullet misses me. While I'm wondering, Napstabot doesn't seem to notice. He sinks down. "The ... Core ... even ... sucks ... out ... my ..." He stays silent.

Temmie sticks her nose out. "If you now break him, he can't be repaired. Just saying. I'm not suggesting you to kill or anything." You say he can't hurt me anymore and there's no need to destroy him. Also I can just leave and will be out of the range of the cube.

I have to sit and wait until my power returns, while the cold ground feels like its touch freezes my skin. Then I get up. Holding myself I'm hurt, but I feel slightly better than before.

I pass him. I'm not in the mood for killing. Because I still don't like to move so much and to touch my cold clothes from the inside. And what finally saved me was no coincidence. You tell me you didn't do anything, you couldn't have done it. That leaves only one possibility.

I think about that while I go on and step into the elevator that would bring me to the castle and a - hopefully - warmer place.

_Read on in chapter 9 - War and Peace_


	8. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding the fate of the world.

Carefully I take one step out of the elevator, expecting another trap or attack, but it's a long, empty hallway made of purple stones. I follow it while looking around. At the end it becomes an open gangway, where the buildings awefully look like the ruins. I question my sanity and if I've run in a circle. The house I finally reach also look's like Asgore's.

I knock on the door. Nobody answers. You say I'm right here and to just go in. The inside, too, looks like the one in Asgore's house.

You say it's time for you to tell me some things. A story.

A long time ago, a human fell into RUINS HOME. Their bones were broken and they cried in pain, ready to die. KID, the king's adopted child, heard the human. KID sent their parents and they killed the human, but the human was sent back in time to their fall and lived again without anyone else remembering. KID found the human like the first time and got their parents to kill them. When the human was back again, they scolded themself for their stupid wish and decided to find a way to live on. They tried many things, but what finally worked was flirting. The monsters were so startled by the flirting human that they spared them. They brought the human to their castle to kill them the next day, but they didn't, and they didn't the day after. The human became the play mate of their kid. Although they never admitted it the human became part of their family. King and Queen could never bring themself to kill the human and made up reasons for that to keep their reputation among monsters. The underground wondered if other humans were like this and if they could do something else with humanity than fighting them.

I walk across the room and climb down the stairs, like I had done in Asgore's home. You continue:

Then, one day, the human became very ill. They requested to see the flowers from their village, but the monsters couldn't do anything. The next day the human died. KID happily absorbed their soul and transformed into a being with incredible power. With that soul KID crossed the barrier and went to the human's village. In the center of the village they waited for the humans to attack. But the humans stayed afar. Some fearless and curious children approached the monster, asking them questions, trying to befriend them. But KID raised their hands to kill them all, so the humans grabbed their weapons to protect their children and to fight KID. They landed blow after blow and KID had no choice as to flee back to the mountain, followed by a white, naive cat that tried to lick KID's wounds. KID entered the castle and collapsed. Their dust spread over the cat.

I follow a long hallway. You're not done yet.

You don't really know what happended next, but you think it was this: The kingdom returned to their old state, monsters full of hate killing each other, waiting for their freedom so they could turn their hate against humanity instead of each other. But the Queen was still full of hope to turn everything to the better. Every human who falls down and behaves friendly to them is allowed to live in the underground, but every one of them was killed by a monster who disagreed with the Queen. I'm the first one to make it this far. I can live on. I can turn everything to the better or the worse.

So you're that human. Well, can't blame you for wanting to die. Thanks for telling me how to do it.

I enter a long corridor, colored in yellow and orange. Bright light shines in from big windows and pillars sending their shadows onto the floor. Each of my steps causes a creepy echo. When I reach the center of the corridor, stepping from the shadows into the light, the sudden brightness blinds me for a moment and suddenly Papyrus stands before me, hands in his pockets. Half of his skull shines in light, the other is shrouded in darkness.

"Human" he says with a cold voice. "You're about to meet the Queen. But. I've given you many chances to turn around. To give me my brother back. Yet you're determined to continue your way. But I won't let you go any further. I will fight you until you give me Sans, the only one in this world who means anything to me. And if you won't, well, nothing left for me to lose anymore, right?"

He closes his eyes in tension. "Your way could have been so easy if you would just have shown mercy this one time. Why did you kill my brother?" Temmie whispers to me: "You don't need to answer." But I raise my voice: "Because he was weird and he said all those strange stuff that made me feel uncofortable." Papyrus shouts at me in anger. His right eye glows scary in orange. "It was just our game you dumb brother killer! He meant no harm to you! He'd never do anything without your consent!"

He summons bones, piercing right through me, a wall of bones hitting me with all might, then some animal-like skulls spitting beams on me before I finally die. You bring me back to the beginning when I entered the hall. Why don't you just let him take my soul? You say that I don't really want to die without making sure someone takes it who will fight my war against humanity. My determination to not die gives you the power to bring me back. I don't believe you.

I step back to the center of the corridor. Papyrus greets me. "Hi there. Don't worry. I have all day. Now that I have no brother to, y'know, take care of, obey to, joke around with ..."

He summons the bones from the ground again, but this time I know they're coming and dodge before they appear. I prepare myself to dodge the bone wall, but instead the beams hit me from behind before Papyrus throws the wall at me while I'm startled and pierces me again.

You bring me back to the entrance. Damn, I hate dying. It's so painful. Damn Papyrus, he should just give up. I return to the center where Papyrus awaits me.

"One more encore? As you wish." Because he remembers the resets, I can't expect to know what he will do. That means I have to follow the good old react-to-what's-coming tactic. You suggest to distract him with flirting. I tell you to not distract me.

This time he starts with the beams, which hit me, but I dodge the wall and some more beams before Papyrus grabs me with some kind of telekinese and throws me into bones that pop out of the wall. I fall down to the ground and I'm injured that much I can barely get up. Papyrus looks at me for some seconds and kills me.

Back to the entrance I hold my head. I can't say if it's getting worse each time or not. It's just painful and annoying and it makes me want to crumble Papyrus's bones with my bare hands. I return to the center.

"Still not having enough? Don't worry. I have kinda fun here. By the way. Why do you hold your head every time you return? Headache?"

I prepare for an attack. Instead, I find myself back at the entrance, again holding my head in pain. What the heck. I didn't die, did I? Suddenly I'm back again in front of Papyrus. And the pain makes me squeeze my head with my hands.

"Oh, so you don't like those sudden changes" Papyrus notices and winks. "Yeah, sucks if the world is not the same as it was a second ago. We have so much in common."

He throws bones at me. I dodge. He teleports me and throws bones while I'm in pain and I find myself back at the entrance in even more pain. I scream in anger. Hell, I can't even tell if I just died or if I was teleported, which confuses me even more.

I run at him, dodging his attacks, he teleports me so I have to run even more, he throws me at a wall, hits me, teleports me to the entrance, attacks me again and I reappear at the same place because I died.

Hey, don't be so stupid. How about you are a bit more helpful?

I walk at him, calming down my breath and heartbeat, because they bring me nothing here. Papyrus winks, throws me against a wall, well, tries to, but you're resetting over and over and over. My headache can't get any worse, but Papyrus can't throw me into the wall like this and finally drops me to the ground.

I'm so mad at him, I start running again, which also gives me a small relieve from the pain, but maybe just by distraction. Papyrus misses me, teleports me, prepares an attack, you reset to the point before his teleporting, so his attacks go where I've now never been. I grab my knife and stab at him, but he dodges and hits my face with his fist. Riddiculous. I drop my knife and he puts his foot on it, you reset so I have it back, stabbing at him, he dodges and summons a wall of bones that hits me hard, throwing me back, but I'm just more angry and jump up again, running at him, attacking. He throws me to a wall, but you reset to before - I don't know when, but I'm close at him with my knife, just stabbing forward in my cloud of pain.

I notice him getting nervous. He teleports me around, throws bones at places the moment before he teleports me there so they have to hit me, but you reset and the attacks miss me anyway. I can hardly evaluate what I'm doing, so I just wave the knife when the pain prevents me from acting properly.

I'm back in front of him, he summons a wall of bones around himself. The pain fades while we look each other in the eye. I grin. "Scared, brittlebones? No master there to protect you, huh? Pathetic." His eyes glow up in anger. He throws the wall at me, teleports me to the entrance - or did I just die? He summons dozens of bones and beam-spitting skulls, filling up the air of the corridor. He teleports me around, right into the bones, throws me through everyting against walls and windows and pillars, you reset I guess, because I can't really distinguish a teleport from a reset except that resets are in my favor, but mostly I don't see a difference. In lack of a close opponent my knife hits a lot of flying bones while slashing around when they dissolve into particles. I don't know anything anymore. Sometimes I'm close to him, sometimes I'm far away, but somehow it's all the same to me. I'm close, slash or stab, he dodges or teleports me, you reset, I stab again. Then you reset while he dodges, so his movement ends right before my attack.

Finally I stab my knife forward und feel some heavy physical resistance. But only for a split of a second and it gives me just a small relieve. I scream in some weird feeling of anger and happiness. I stab again and again, but my knife just hits the empty jacket. It was too short. I feel so empty. I wish I could kill him more, kill him longer, cause him all the suffering he had caused me, but I can't and I cry in anger. It's over. No one will ever bother me again.

Temmie is as discret as to keep silent until I pull myself together and whipe of my tears with my dirty sleeve. I probably look creepy now. "Temmie." I turn to her. "I didn't ask you before. But when you were distracting Papyrus with the phone, Papyrus thought Sans was calling and asked him if he respawnt. So ... did you ever see a monster respawning? I need to know" Temmie gives me a weird look. "What's respawn?" "That means a monster that gets killed ... ehm, just appears again and is alive again." "Oh yes, of course" she beamed with joy about understanding what I mean. "There are several monster of one kind and if you kill one you will likely encounter another that looks the same. And seeks you for revenge." I shake my head. "No, what I mean is that the exact same monster appears. That remembers that you killed it before." She looks at me not comprehending. "Like human gets killed and human resets, appearing again? No, never. Only humans and Temmie can do that. Because the one with the highest determination can reset. And I remember your resets ... well, dunno why, maybe because I did it myself before?"

This actualy doesn't tell me anything. And you can just confirm that what Temmie says is about the same as what you know about that.

I take some more moments standing in the silence of the corridor before I'm ready to move on. I leave the corridor and reach another hallway with more purple. Then I reach a doorway with a sign beside it saying "Throne room".

But before I enter I follow the hallway until its end, where there's another room. eight coffins about my size are placed there. Every coffin has a colored heart and a name on it, except one. I take a sneek peek into the coffins. In each one there are some items, except in the one without label. There's no single body in any of them. I think the items are from the other fallen humans and the first coffin is for me. Well, too bad they got it for nothing.

Now it's time I go back and enter the throne room. What a strange "throne" room. Yes, there is a throne standing in the center of the hall. But beside that the hall looks like a children's room. On the ground there are carpets of landscapes. At the sides there are shelves with games and boxes with toys. Doodles are hanging on the wall. In one corner there is a kitchen and a table, where puppets of the size of children sit on chairs. In the kitchen I also spot Queen Toriel, standing with her back to me, so all I see of her is a long purple cape, a small crown and white, down-hanging ears like Asgore's.

"Just a minute. I'm nearly done" she says, takes out a delicous smelling pie of the oven and puts it onto the table. She takes off her giant oven gloves, puts them onto the table, too, and turns to me. "So it's true" she says while looking at me. "I heard another human would come. But I never thought you would come this far. All other humans were killed before they reached me, unfortunately."

"Is that why the coffins are empty except for some items?" I ask. "And Asgore said 'they will not only take my soul'. What does that mean?" She sighes. "Asgore seeks for war on humanity. He usually let's the humans live so that they can kill some monsters and show me how bad humanity is. I ordered to spare every human that falls down here. But usually some monsters disobey and kill the humans before they reach me. I only get their dead bodys. Lately Undyne, my royal scientist, requested the bodys for her research on resurrecting them. I don't know the details and she hasn't shown me any results yet."

She's turning half around, pointing to the corner where the puppets are sitting around the pie. "I heard you were killing quiet a lot. You must have been so scared. Don't worry, my child, you are now save here. I want you to stay here with me. I will take good care of you. I want you to get to know us monsters and to become our ambassador so we can make peace with humanity."

"Sorry, but I agree that humanity has to vanish. Take my soul, open the barrier and whipe them out. There's no other way for you to get peace." You ask if I'm serious and why I want to die so badly. I ignore you.

Toriel looks at me surprised. "You're declining my offer? But I thought your appearance here means you don't want to live on the surface anymore? And you killed because of your need for safety? What else could you want? Tell me and maybe I can do something about it." You agree. Whatever my problem is, you're sure it can be helped.

"I'm full of hate for humans" I reply. "I can't take it anymore. So I want to die, but the hate makes me want to destroy. So take my soul, kill humans and I will find my peace."

"I see" Toriel says with a sad face. "But I strongly feel that war is not the right way to find peace. Sorry, human. I offer you to stay in the underground, far away from humans and you can seek for your peace here. I won't kill you."

"In that case I have to do it myself" I decide. You gasp and tell me not to. I walk to Toriel, take out my knife and stab her before she realizes what I'm after. When her body dissolves to dust, sprinkling all over me I feel new strength burning in me.

"That's her soul" Temmie comments.

I look at the pie, but I'm not hungry anymore.

At the other end of the hall I find another doorway. Behind that I find the barrier, monochrome, waving, but somehow it backs off from me.

"Great, we made it!" Temmie says. I keep silent for some moments, before I reply: "Well, too bad you don't have the needed souls to cross the barrier." "Wait, what?" I put her down and enter the barrier, which bends around me. "Hey, come back, dOn't LEEF TeM!" I hear her shouting with a voice that gets lower with every of my steps.

You ask me what I'm going to do now.

I don't answer. And I don't like you anymore. I take off the heart shaped locket. You tell me to wait and not do it, but I drop the locket onto the ground and leave you alone in the darkness.


	9. War and Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deciding the fate of the world.

When I step out of the elevator I enter some long hallways made of purple stones. I follow them and reach an open gangway that gives me a strange feeling of déjà-vu, because the buildings there somehow remind me of the ruins? At the end I even reach the front of a house that looks just like Asgore's.

I knock on the door, but nobody answers. You tell me to just go in, I will be save there. I enter and the inside, too, looks exactly like Asgore's house in ruins home.

You say that you owe me an explanation. So you start telling a story.

A long time ago, a human fell into RUINS HOME. Injured by their fall, the human cried in pain, wishing to die. KID, the king's adopted child, heard the human, but when the human saw that they were a monster, they got curious and wanted to live and get to know them. KID sent their parents to kill the human, but the human flirted with them all and they were so startled that they spared them. They brought the human to the castle, keeping them as play mate for their kid. The human grew to become part of their family and King and Queen treated the human like their weird child they better hide from others but who they secretly deeply cared for. The underground wondered if all humans were so weird and kinda nice and if they were really worth being fought.

I walk across the room and climb down the stairs, like I had done in Asgore's home. You continue:

Then, one day, the human became very ill. They requested to see the flowers from their village, but the monsters couldn't do anything. The next day the human died. KID happily absorbed their soul and transformed into a being with incredible power. With that soul KID crossed the barrier and went to the human's village. In the center of the village they waited for the humans to attack. But the humans stayed afar. Some fearless and curious children approached the monster, asking them questions, trying to befriend them. But KID raised their hands to kill them all, so the humans grabbed their weapons to protect their children and to fight KID. They landed blow after blow and KID had no choice as to flee back to the mountain, followed by a white, naive cat that tried to lick KID's wounds. KID entered the castle and collapsed. Their dust spread over the cat.

I follow a long hallway. You're not done yet.

You don't really know what happended next, but you can deduct the following: The kingdom returned to their old state, monsters full of hate killing each other, waiting for their freedom so they could turn their hate against humanity instead of each other. But the Queen was still full of hope to turn everything to the better. Every human who falls down and behaves friendly to them is allowed to live in the underground, but every one of them was killed by a monster who disagreed with the Queen. I'm the first one to make it this far. I can turn everything to the better.

So your name is Frisk and you're that human. Nice to meet you. I'm Chara. Can't blame the monsters for hating humans. Or for liking you. You're blushing. And all those time you let me think you were a cat because of that phone, you silly goose. How can Temmie be your sibling? You don't know. Kid's essence probably got into the cat along with the dust. But why can Temmie speak, reset and summon bullets? You don't know. It was a normal cat back then.

I enter a long corridor, pretty painted with warm colors. The ground is covered with yellow and orange tiles. Warm light shines in from big decorative windows and pillars cutting through the light with their shadows. Each of my steps causes a long echo. When I'm about in the middle of the corridor and step into the light of another window, the light makes me blink and Papyrus stands before me, hands in his pockets. Half of his skull shines in light, the other is shrouded in darkness.

"Human" he says with a distant voice, like I'm some stranger. "You're about to meet the Queen. Eventually you will die or you will take her soul and leave. Let me have the honor to speak some final words to you. 'Cause I know more about you than you might realize. First is: The number of monsters you've killed. And what can I say. You killed so much you could be one of us." He winks and continues more seriously: "Second. My bro. Seems like he really likes you. But we don't belong here and you do neither. So despite what he's saying I'd prefer if you won't come back. No hard feelings."

He makes a long period. "Well, that's it. Oh, and before I forget: I would prefer if you could take that cat with you whereever you go. So that we, y'know, can go on with our own lives."

"As if I would want to be trapped here" Temmie charges. In that moment I turn to her I notice Papyrus is gone and wonder how he can move unnoticed by me.

Hm, how unfortunate. "Thanks for the help" I say to the empty room, hoping he listens. "Help for what? From who?" Temmie asks, but I just shake my head as answer.

I continue my way, leave the corridor and reach another purple colored hallway. After some more walking I find a doorway and a sign beside it saying "Throne room".

Before I enter it I follow the hallway and find another room at its end. The room is filled with eight coffins, all about my size, that is human size. Every coffin has a heart in a different color drawn on it. The first one is open and completely empty, the heart is not colored and it's not labeled. You tell me don't! But I take a sneek peek into every coffin and notice they're all empty except for clothes and different items in them. A notebook and glasses in one, a tutu and ballet shoes in another ... That must be the items of the other fallen humans. And the empty one is dedicated to me. I never heard one of the names written on the coffin except one: Frisk on the first one. Blue clothes with purple stripes, a stick and some bandages are in it. You say that the sickness made you bleed out the mouth and they didn't really know what to do, so they put bandages around your head. You giggle. But for me this sounds more like an injury or poison especially if it came so sudden? You get silent and don't reply.

Now it's time. I go back the hallway and enter the throne room.

This is not what I expected a throne room to look like. Okay, it is a big room with a throne in the center. But it is decorated like a children's room or something. Colorful carpets with landscapes on them lie on the ground. Pictures with doodles are hanging on the walls. There are boxes with toys, shelves with board games. In one corner I spot the back of the Queen herself. Her body is covered by a purple cape and she wears a neatly crown. I see long white ears hanging down like Asgore had.

"Just a minute. I'm nearly done." She's standing in a kitchen corner, taking out a delicious smelling pie of an oven an puts it on a kitchen table with ... puppets as big as human children's sitting on the chairs around it. Creepy.

Queen Toriel takes off her giant oven gloves, drops them on the table beneath the pie and comes closer. "So it's true" she says, looking down on me. "I heard another human would come. But I never thought you would come this far. All other humans were killed before they reached me, unfortunately."

"What happended to them? I found all their coffins empty" I ask. "And Asgore said 'they will not only take my soul'. What does that mean?" She looks down, kinda sad. "Undyne, my royal scientist, requested their bodys for her experiments on resurrecting them. I don't know any details. She hasn't shown me any results yet."

I don't know what to say. She sighs. "Asgore, my husband, seeks war on humanity and to whipe them out so we can rule the surface. He wanted to show me how bad humans are, to convince me. I heard you killed some monsters, but ... probably in self defense, wasn't it? I try to keep them under control with strict laws, but they ignore them whenever they can. I just try to keep the peace."

She looks aside, pointing to the kitchen corner. "You can stay here and live with me. I will take good care of you and protect you from the monsters. I want you to learn as much as you can about us. Then I want you to one day become our ambassador and to help us making a peace contract with the humans."

"Nah. I agree with your man. You should whipe out humanity. I give you my soul if you promise me to not let Undyne do experiments with my body." You are asking me why I was saying this. Do I not want to live? Why would I want all humans to die? Sure, they're not nice all the time, but they're also not that bad. I tell you that you don't understand.

Toriel looks at me in surprise. "You're declining my offer? Why would you rather die than live with me? Am I that disgusting to you? Please think about it. I'm sure you will get used to us."

"It's not because of you. I know how bad humans really are. They will not make peace with you. They will hunt you, kill you, capture you, experiment on you and put you into cages for amusement. And what do you think they'd do with me if I tell them I saw monsters? They will declare me insane, lock me in an asylum and give me tons of drugs until I forget who I am." You tell me no, it's not, we have a chance. I clench my fist and tell you to shut up while I speak. "So. You either stay in the underground forever. Or you take my soul and fight."

Toriel turns away. "I decline. If you don't want to stay, go whereever you want. I don't see a reason to kill you."

"Wait. Wait!" I drop Temmie and take out my knife. "If you don't want to take my soul, I make you!" I run toward her. Oh no, no, you say and beg me not to kill her. She turns around, throwing her cape around, showing shiny armor underneath. She lets her fists burn in flames. "Back off, human. You know the underground will go mad and kill themselves if I'm not there to restrict them? You would never get your war." "Then kill me!" Don't worry, my dear invisible friend. I try not to kill her. But you don't want me to die either? Sorry.

When I run close to her, she throws fireballs at me that I dodge. They leave black stains on the carpet. I stab my knife at her, careful not to kill her and scratch one of her feet. She doesn't bleed, but the cut remains and I see some kind of matter coming out, like the edges of her wound falling to dust.

She summons a firewall close to her, so I have to back off, just as far as necessary. When the fire fades, I attack again, causing Toriel another cut. In shock she's not careful with her next attack, burning my cheek and setting a puppet on the chair on fire. I don't care for that and fight bravely. What are those scratches after all. Her fire is still careful and not hot enough for me, so I'll provoke her until it blazes like the sun.

I jump around her, attacking from the other side. Another cut, another burn, three more puppets standing in flames. Toriel gets angry at me. Her next salve of fireballs sets some toy boxes on fire. Not long until the whole throne room will burn. I love it. But the pie also burns and that makes me sad.

I don't know anymore where to cut her feet without cutting them off, so I start for her hands next. Her eyes glow in anger and my knife heats up in my hands. She summons walls of fire. The carpet below her feet burns. She seems to be immune to her own fire, but she's getting tired, judging by her breathing and the sweat drops on her face. I can only stay a short while on the carpet before I feel the heat through my shoes and quickly jump off again.

Toriel looks at me with her glowing eyes, burning in anger. I shout: "Kill me! Or I destroy everything in your life!" She takes a deep breath, preparing a big attack that makes her fists burn several feet high. "Yes, come on, kill me!" I encourage her.

But suddenly the flames disappear and she sinks to the ground. "No" she says exhausted, kneeing on the burning ground in dignity. "I know there is a way for monsters and humans to leave in peace. If you don't want to stay: Take my soul. Pass the barrier and make your peace with the humans." I don't know what to do. I made her burning her throne room and I made her looking like rubbish and still she doesn't hate me. I don't know what else to do to make her kill me. And I don't want to return to the humans as well. I think about my options.

Suddenly a ring of white bullets appear around Toriel, accelerating to her, cutting through her body, turning her to dust. Temmie stands beside me. "What did you do??" I ask her in anger.

"Oh human, I told you monsters don't deserve to live. By killing Toriel the underground will go crazy and everyone will kill each other." I grab her, putting my hands around her neck. "You dirty cat, how dare to interrupt my fight!" Temmie chokes and flounces, trying to scratch me. You ask me not to kill her. I release her. Temmie coughs and chokes before she can speak again. "You are not save here anymore. The monsters will hunt you. Now you have to kill them, no matter if you like it or not." "Just leave me you stupid animal." I have to hold myself back to not kick her. She runs away.

You tell me that there's another way. A place where I will be save for now and will have some time to think. You tell me to go through the other doorway at the end of the throne room. I follow the floor and go through another door. There it is, the barrier. A monochrome, waving thing I can hardly spot anything behind if I look close enough. You tell me to go forward. I expect resistance, but when I walk into it, it just seems to get further away, but the door behind me gets further away, too.

You tell me that I can not pass the barrier from this side without a soul, but I can enter the void inside it and stay here as long as i need. You found it out once when you were playing hide and seek with Kid. Only the royal family knows this. Thank you. I walk for a while until it's nearly dark around me, then I sit down, considering my options.

The phone rings. I pick it up. It's Papyrus: "Oh ... Hello human. We thought you left. Where are you? No, better not tell us. Didn't expect you to answer the phone after you killed the Queen ..." "It wasn't me! The cat did it. I fought Toriel, but Temmie interrupted and did the final blow." I hear him turning the face away from the phone and whispering something. Then he turns back to me. "Doesn't really matter. The underground is in uproar and everyone thinks you did it. Asgore is on his way to the throne and the monsters accept him as their leader to bring them revenge. Undyne visited him a while ago ... showed him a secret weapon she invented to defeat the humans. Now they wait for one more human to fall down and Asgore will use their soul to cross the barrier and get the remaining six. If they don't find the place where Toriel hid hers, that is. By the way, here's someone who wants to talk to you."

He passes the phone. I know that voice so well. "Hey, my slave." "Sans? I'm in the barrier. Would you come over? Kill me? Cross the barrier with my soul? Collect the missing souls and free monster kind, so that they can wage war on humanity?" Sans makes a long, long break. Just before I start to speak to check if he heard me, he answers. "Human, that is ... I don't know what to say. I care about you more than about the other monsters, except Papyrus. And I don't really hate humans. So no, I'm not killing you." After a while he adds: "And you better not ask anyone else to do it. Because, you know, if someone kills you I kill them."

He sighes again. "I don't know why you hate humanity. I don't know much about them after all. But ... Papyrus says you have the power to turn everything to the good or to the bad. So maybe you could use that power to make your peace with humans, I mean with yourself. Or maybe find a new home here as my slave, you know. Your choice." I don't know what to answer. I didn't consider Sans would decline my soul as well. "Thanks, I think about it." I end the call. And stay in the darkness with my thoughts about possible futures.


End file.
